Estate planning for Ann Arbor, Michigan families
Wills, revocable living trusts, powers of attorney and probate guidance for Ann Arbor households; with a flat fee quoted in writing before any work begins.
Ann Arbor estates are usually asset-rich and paperwork-poor. A house bought long before prices climbed, a university or health system retirement plan, a brokerage account opened in another state years ago, and children who now live somewhere else entirely. Very little of this is complicated, but almost none of it passes the way people assume, and the pieces that control it are spread across three places: the will, the beneficiary forms and the deed.
Where we work in and around Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, Burns Park, Water Hill, Kerrytown, the Old West Side, Ann Arbor Hills, Barton Hills, Scio Township, Pittsfield Township, and nearby Saline, Dexter, Chelsea and Ypsilanti.
What a Ann Arbor estate plan usually includes
- a will or revocable living trust, chosen on whether the estate should stay out of the Ann Arbor courthouse;
- a financial durable power of attorney so someone can handle bills, accounts and property if you cannot;
- a patient advocate designation naming who makes health care decisions, with a HIPAA authorization so they can actually get the records;
- a review of every beneficiary designation, because retirement accounts and life insurance pass by that form rather than by the will;
- a deed review for the Ann Arbor home, since real estate is the asset most likely to force a family into probate.
What comes up most often in Ann Arbor
University and hospital retirement plans
A large share of local wealth sits in retirement accounts from the university, the health system, or a research employer. These accounts do not pass under a will; they pass to whoever is named on the beneficiary form, and those forms are often decades out of date. Every designation gets reviewed line by line.
A long-owned home that is now the estate
A home bought before the market climbed may now be worth several times what it cost. Held in one name, it is the asset most likely to send the family to the courthouse downtown. A trust or a lady bird deed usually keeps it out, but the deed itself has to be changed; a will alone does not do it.
Academic households with assets in two states
Property or accounts left behind in a prior state can require a second probate proceeding there, on top of the Michigan one. Retitling those assets into a trust while you are living is usually the cleanest way to avoid running two estates at once.
Young families and guardian nominations
For parents of minor children the two decisions that matter most are who raises them and who manages money for them. A guardian nomination and a trust that holds funds past age eighteen do both, and they can be signed in the same sitting as everything else.
Request a free consultation in Ann Arbor
Where a Ann Arbor estate is probated
Ann Arbor sits in Washtenaw County, so an estate for someone who lived here is opened at the Washtenaw County Probate Court in Ann Arbor. Addresses, hours and filing details are on the Washtenaw County probate page, and the wider county overview is on the Washtenaw County estate planning page. Most of that process is avoidable with planning done in advance.
The step almost everyone misses
Services and pricing
- Estate planning services
- Estate plan packages and flat fee pricing
- Articles, probate courts and areas we serve
Book a consultation call
Tell us about your family and what you own. Your request goes directly to Attorney Badri Yono Jr. of Foster Swift Collins & Smith, P.C., who runs a conflict check before contacting you directly. You get a flat fee in writing before any work starts, so there is no meter running and no surprise invoice. Most Ann Arbor clients finish the whole process without driving to Ann Arbor once.
Request a free consultation in Ann Arbor
This is an intake funnel and does not provide legal advice or legal representation. THIS FUNNEL IS NOT A LAW FIRM. Using this funnel or submitting a request does not create an attorney-client relationship. All requests are referred to Attorney Badri Yono Jr. (P88777) of Foster Swift Collins & Smith, P.C., who will provide legal services after an engagement agreement is executed, subject to its terms.
Talk with Attorney Badri Yono Jr.
Tell us about your family and we'll connect you directly with Attorney Badri Yono Jr. of Foster Swift; with a flat fee quoted in writing before any work begins.