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 submitted through this funnel are referred to Attorney Badri Yono Jr. (P88777) of Foster Swift Collins & Smith, P.C., who will conduct a conflict check before communicating directly with you and will provide legal services after an engagement agreement is executed, subject to its terms.
Badri Yono Jr. Esq.Foster Swift Collins & Smith, P.C.

Washtenaw County Estate Planning Lawyer

Attorney Badri Yono Jr. of Foster Swift Collins & Smith, P.C. helps Washtenaw County, Michigan families with wills, revocable living trusts, financial powers of attorney and patient advocate designations. Every plan is quoted as a flat fee in writing before any work begins.

Washtenaw County estates tend to be asset-rich and paperwork-poor. A house bought decades ago that is now worth several times what it cost, a university or hospital retirement account, a brokerage account opened in a different state, and adult children scattered across the country. Very little of that is complicated to organize, but almost none of it passes the way people assume. The will controls one set of assets, the beneficiary forms control another, and the deed controls the house. A plan is simply the act of making those three agree with each other while you are still the one deciding.

Washtenaw County Wills and Trusts Attorney

A Washtenaw County estate plan usually starts with a choice between a will and a revocable living trust. A trust can keep an estate out of the Ann Arbor probate court, but only for the assets actually titled into it; see funding your trust.

Washtenaw County Powers of Attorney

A financial durable power of attorney names who handles bills, accounts and property if you cannot. A patient advocate designation names who makes health care decisions, and a HIPAA authorization lets them get the records.

Estate planning matters handled for Washtenaw County families include:

Washtenaw County Probate and Trust Administration

When someone who lived in Washtenaw County dies with assets in their sole name, the estate is opened at the Washtenaw County Probate Court in Ann Arbor, at 101 E. Huron St., Ann Arbor, MI 48107. Washtenaw County probate sits in downtown Ann Arbor, which matters for scheduling if the person handling the estate is working around a job or living out of the area. Filing methods, hours and fees are on the Washtenaw County probate page.

Estate Planning Situations Common in Washtenaw County

University and hospital retirement accounts

A large share of local wealth sits in retirement plans from the university, the health system, or a research employer. Those accounts do not pass under a will; they pass to whoever is named on the beneficiary form, and that form is often decades out of date. Reviewing every designation line by line is usually the single highest-value hour of the whole process.

A home that is now the largest asset

A house bought in the 1980s or 1990s may now carry most of the estate's value. Held in one name with no deed planning, it is also the asset most likely to force the family into the Ann Arbor courthouse. A trust or a lady bird deed usually keeps it out, but only if the deed is actually changed.

Adult children who moved away

When the person you name as personal representative or successor trustee lives in another state, the plan has to work at a distance. That means clear written instructions, documents that are easy to find, and a structure that does not require anyone to appear in Ann Arbor more often than necessary.

Rental property near campus

Small rental portfolios are common here and they create two problems at once: a tenant relationship that cannot pause while an estate is opened, and an asset title that rarely gets moved into the trust. Both are fixable in advance; neither fixes itself.

Communities Served in Washtenaw County

Cities and Villages

  • Ann Arbor
  • Barton Hills
  • Chelsea
  • Dexter
  • Manchester
  • Milan
  • Saline
  • Ypsilanti

Townships

  • Ann Arbor Township
  • Augusta Township
  • Bridgewater Township
  • Dexter Township
  • Freedom Township
  • Lima Township
  • Lodi Township
  • Lyndon Township
  • Manchester Township
  • Northfield Township
  • Pittsfield Township
  • Salem Township
  • Saline Township
  • Scio Township
  • Sharon Township
  • Superior Township
  • Sylvan Township
  • Webster Township
  • York Township
  • Ypsilanti Township

For more information, request a consultation with a Washtenaw County estate planning attorney, or see flat fee plans.

Request a consultation

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.

Request a Consultation