Michigan Estate Planning Attorneys Who Build Protection That Actually Works

Protect what you’ve built. Ensure your wishes are honored. Give your family clarity when they need it most. Boroja, Bernier & Associates creates comprehensive estate plans for families throughout Michigan—because your legacy deserves more than a template.

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You Know You Need an Estate Plan. Here’s Why You Haven’t Done It Yet—And Why That Needs to Change.

You’ve been meaning to do this for years. Something always gets in the way—it feels overwhelming, it feels morbid, it feels like something you’ll get to eventually. You’re not alone. Most Michigan families put off estate planning until something forces their hand: a health scare, a death in the family, a new child, a friend’s horror story about probate.

Here’s the problem with “eventually”: Michigan law doesn’t wait for you to be ready. If something happens before you have a plan in place, the state decides who inherits your property (MCL 700.2101-2114, the intestacy statutes), the court decides who raises your children, and your family navigates a process that’s more expensive, more public, and more stressful than it ever needed to be.

Estate planning is how you decide—not Michigan courts—what happens to everything you own and who makes decisions on your behalf if you can’t. It’s the legal framework that protects your assets, provides for your family, and ensures your wishes are honored during your lifetime and after.

And it’s not just for the wealthy. If you own a home, have children, maintain retirement accounts, or simply want to control who inherits your belongings—you need an estate plan. The state’s default rules rarely match what families actually want.

At Boroja, Bernier & Associates, we don’t sell documents—we build protection. Our approach starts with understanding your family, your assets, and your goals. From there, we create customized Michigan estate plans that address every contingency, minimize tax exposure, and give your family the gift of clarity during difficult times.

Whether you’re a young professional just starting out, parents protecting minor children, business owners safeguarding your life’s work, or retirees planning for the next chapter—comprehensive estate planning is the foundation of financial security and family peace of mind.

We serve families throughout all of Michigan. With our headquarters in Shelby Township and additional offices in Troy, Ann Arbor, and Lansing—plus virtual consultations available statewide—every Michigan resident can access the protection they deserve.

Our Estate Planning Services

A complete estate plan is more than a will. It’s an integrated system of legal documents designed to protect you during life, ensure a smooth transition at death, and keep your family out of court whenever possible.

Wills (Last Will and Testament)

The Foundation of Every Estate Plan

A will is the cornerstone document of any estate plan—the legal instrument that directs who inherits your property, names guardians for minor children, and designates who will manage your estate after you’re gone.

Under Michigan law (MCL 700.2502), a valid will must meet specific formalities: you must be at least 18 years old, of sound mind, and the document must be signed in the presence of two witnesses who also sign the will. Miss any of these requirements, and your will may be invalid—leaving your family to navigate Michigan’s intestacy laws instead.

What We Include in Every Will:

• Asset distribution provisions directing who inherits specific property
• Residuary clause addressing all remaining assets
• Guardian nominations for minor children (if applicable)
• Personal representative (executor) designation
• Alternate provisions if your first choices are unavailable
• Specific bequests for heirlooms, collections, or charitable gifts
• Pet trust provisions (if applicable)

Many Michigan families don’t realize that a will alone doesn’t avoid probate—it simply provides instructions for the probate court to follow. For families who want to avoid court involvement entirely, the Michigan estate planning attorneys at Boroja, Bernier & Associates typically recommend pairing a will with a revocable living trust.

Trusts

Advanced Protection and Probate Avoidance

Trusts are powerful estate planning tools that provide benefits a will simply can’t: probate avoidance, asset protection, privacy, and sophisticated distribution controls. At Boroja, Bernier & Associates, we help Michigan families determine which trust structures best serve their specific situations.

Revocable Living Trusts

A revocable living trust allows you to maintain complete control of your assets during your lifetime while ensuring a seamless, private transfer to your beneficiaries at death—without probate court involvement. You serve as your own trustee, you can modify or revoke the trust at any time, and your family avoids the delays, costs, and public record of probate.

Under Michigan law, properly funded revocable trusts transfer assets outside the probate process entirely. This means faster distribution to your heirs, lower administrative costs, and complete privacy (unlike wills, which become public record when filed with probate court).

Irrevocable Trusts

For families with more complex needs—significant assets, Medicaid planning goals, business succession concerns, or estate tax exposure—irrevocable trusts offer advanced protection. Once established, these trusts remove assets from your taxable estate while providing specific benefits depending on the trust type.

Trust Types We Create:

• Revocable living trusts (probate avoidance)
• Irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILIT)
• Special needs & supplemental needs trusts (protecting government benefits eligibility)
• Charitable remainder trusts
• Qualified personal residence trusts (QPRT)
• Grantor retained annuity trusts (GRAT)
• Asset protection trusts (QTIP and others)

In our experience serving Michigan families, the most common estate planning mistake is creating a living trust but failing to fund it properly. A trust only protects assets that have been transferred into it—which is why our process includes comprehensive trust funding guidance and follow-up.

Powers of Attorney

Ensuring Trusted People Make Decisions If You Can’t

What happens if you’re incapacitated—unable to pay bills, manage investments, or make medical decisions? Without proper powers of attorney in place, your family may need to petition the probate court for guardianship or conservatorship—an expensive, time-consuming, and often emotionally difficult process.

A power of attorney allows you to designate trusted individuals to act on your behalf in specific situations. Michigan recognizes several types, each serving different purposes.

Durable Financial Power of Attorney

MICHIGAN UNIFORM POWER OF ATTORNEY ACT (Effective July 1, 2024): Michigan’s power of attorney law was significantly modernized on July 1, 2024 with the enactment of the Michigan Uniform Power of Attorney Act (Act 187 of 2023, MCL 556.201 et seq.). This legislation replaced Michigan’s prior financial power of attorney statutes (MCL 700.5501-5505) and fundamentally changed how powers of attorney work in our state.

Under the new Act, “durable” means the power of attorney is not terminated by the principal’s incapacity (MCL 556.202(d))—exactly when you need it most. However, the Act establishes specific execution requirements that must be met for a power of attorney to be durable.

Under MCL 556.205, a power of attorney is only durable if it is either:

• Acknowledged before a notary public, OR
• Signed in the presence of two witnesses (neither of whom can be named as an agent), who also sign the document

A power of attorney that doesn’t meet these requirements is not durable and will terminate if you become incapacitated—the opposite of what most people intend.

Key Changes Under the 2024 Act:

• Agent’s Acknowledgment Requirement (MCL 556.213): Before exercising authority under a durable power of attorney, agents must now sign an acknowledgment of their duties. This is a significant new safeguard.
• Mandatory Agent Duties (MCL 556.214): Agents must act in accordance with your known expectations (or your best interest if expectations aren’t known), act in good faith, stay within the scope of granted authority, and keep reasonable records. These duties cannot be waived.
• Third-Party Acceptance Rules (MCL 556.220): Financial institutions and others must accept a properly executed power of attorney within 7 business days or face potential liability—reducing the frustrating delays families often experienced under prior law.
• Specific Authority Requirements (MCL 556.201): Certain significant actions now require express authorization in the power of attorney, including making gifts, creating or amending trusts, changing beneficiary designations, and creating rights of survivorship.
• Enhanced Protections: The Act includes provisions coordinating with Michigan’s Financial Exploitation Prevention Act to protect vulnerable adults from abuse.

Durable (Immediate) vs. Springing Powers of Attorney

Under the Michigan Uniform Power of Attorney Act, a power of attorney can be drafted to take effect immediately upon execution or to “spring” into effect only upon the principal’s incapacity (MCL 556.209). While springing powers may seem appealing—your agent has no authority until you actually need help—we generally do not recommend them.

Here’s why: springing powers create practical complications when families need them most. Someone must formally determine that you’re incapacitated before your agent can act. Under MCL 556.209, this requires either a physician’s or psychologist’s written determination (for mental incapacity) or an attorney’s, judge’s, or government official’s determination (if you’re missing, detained, or outside the country unable to return).

This process takes time, and financial institutions may be reluctant to accept the power until they’re satisfied the triggering condition has been met. Meanwhile, bills go unpaid and financial matters stall.

An immediate (durable) power of attorney, by contrast, is effective from the moment you sign it—but that doesn’t mean your agent will use it. A trustworthy agent (which is the only kind you should appoint) will only exercise authority when genuinely needed.

For clients who remain concerned about granting immediate authority, we can discuss safeguards such as holding the original document until needed or requiring co-agents for significant transactions—approaches that provide peace of mind without the practical drawbacks of springing powers.

Healthcare Power of Attorney (Patient Advocate Designation)

Michigan’s Patient Advocate Designation (MCL 700.5506-5515) allows you to name someone to make medical decisions if you’re unable to communicate your wishes. This includes decisions about treatment, surgery, medication, and end-of-life care. Note that patient advocate designations are specifically excluded from the Uniform Power of Attorney Act (MCL 556.203(b))—they remain governed by separate provisions in EPIC.

What We Include:

• Specific powers tailored to your situation (not one-size-fits-all forms)
• Express authorization for actions requiring specific authority
• Agent’s Acknowledgment form
• HIPAA authorization for healthcare information access
• Successor agent provisions if your first choice is unavailable
• Clear activation provisions (immediate vs. springing powers)
• Specific limitations to prevent misuse

Under Michigan law, a power of attorney is only valid while you have capacity to execute it. Once dementia progresses or incapacity occurs, it’s too late. This is why the estate planning attorneys at Boroja, Bernier & Associates consider powers of attorney among the most urgent documents in any estate plan—they must be in place before you need them.

Healthcare Directives (Living Wills)

Documenting Your End-of-Life Wishes

A healthcare directive—sometimes called a living will or advance directive—documents your wishes regarding end-of-life medical treatment. This isn’t about choosing between life and death; it’s about ensuring your values and preferences guide medical decisions when you can’t speak for yourself.

Michigan law allows you to provide specific instructions about life-sustaining treatment, including:

• Mechanical ventilation
• Artificial nutrition and hydration
• Dialysis
• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
• Pain management and comfort care preferences

Your healthcare directive works alongside your Patient Advocate Designation. The directive provides guidance; your patient advocate applies that guidance to specific medical situations. Together, these documents ensure your wishes are known and honored.

Beneficiary Designations & Asset Coordination

The Often-Overlooked Key to a Complete Estate Plan

Here’s what many Michigan families don’t realize: your will doesn’t control everything. Assets with beneficiary designations—retirement accounts, life insurance policies, payable-on-death bank accounts, transfer-on-death investment accounts—pass directly to named beneficiaries, completely bypassing your will.

This creates a significant risk. If your beneficiary designations don’t match your estate plan, your assets may pass to unintended recipients. We’ve seen cases where ex-spouses inherited retirement accounts because beneficiary forms were never updated after divorce.

Our Coordination Process:

• Comprehensive beneficiary audit across all accounts
• Alignment with your overall estate plan goals
• Primary and contingent beneficiary recommendations
• Trust-as-beneficiary structuring (when appropriate)
• Coordination with employer-sponsored plans
• Annual review reminders

Beneficiary designations are the most frequently neglected element of estate planning—and often the most consequential. Under federal law (ERISA), retirement account beneficiary designations override your will. An outdated beneficiary form can unintentionally disinherit your intended heirs.

Estate Tax Planning

Minimizing Tax Exposure for Your Heirs

Michigan does not impose a state estate tax or inheritance tax. However, your estate may still be subject to federal estate taxes if it exceeds the federal exemption amount.

UPDATED FOR 2026: As of 2026, the federal estate tax exemption is approximately $15 million per individual (or $30 million for married couples using portability). This increased exemption, enacted through recent federal legislation, provides significant planning opportunities for high-net-worth families—but the exemption amount can change with future legislation.

For families with significant assets, strategic estate planning can dramatically reduce—or eliminate—estate tax exposure through proper use of:

• Lifetime gifting strategies (annual exclusion gifts)
• Irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILIT)
• Grantor retained annuity trusts (GRAT)
• Charitable planning vehicles
• Spousal portability elections
• Family limited partnerships
• Qualified terminable interest property trusts (QTIP)
• Qualified personal residence trusts (QPRT)

With the federal estate tax exemption at approximately $15 million per individual as of 2026, fewer Michigan families face federal estate tax exposure—but this exemption can change with future legislation. For families with significant assets, proactive planning ensures you’re protected regardless of how tax laws evolve.

Business Succession Planning

Protecting Your Business Through Proper Estate Planning

If you own a business—whether a family company, professional practice, or partnership interest—your estate plan must address what happens to that business if you become incapacitated or pass away. Without proper planning, your business may face immediate complications, family conflict, or unintended outcomes.

At Boroja, Bernier & Associates, we help business owners integrate their business interests into their comprehensive estate plans. This includes properly funding trusts with business ownership interests, ensuring smooth transitions of control through your estate planning documents, and coordinating your personal estate plan with your business structure.

For business owners with more complex succession needs—such as buy-sell agreements, entity restructuring, or multi-generational transition planning—we can help assess your situation and coordinate with specialized business attorneys or financial advisors as needed to ensure comprehensive coverage.

Special Needs Planning

Protecting Beneficiaries Without Jeopardizing Benefits

If you have a child, grandchild, or other beneficiary with disabilities who receives (or may receive) government benefits like Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a standard inheritance could disqualify them from these essential programs.

A properly drafted special needs trust (also called a supplemental needs trust) allows you to provide for your loved one’s care, comfort, and quality of life without jeopardizing their eligibility for government benefits. The trust can pay for things benefits don’t cover: vacations, electronics, specialized therapies, recreational activities, and more.

Michigan-Specific Considerations:

• Coordination with Michigan Department of Health and Human Services requirements
• First-party vs. third-party special needs trust structures
• ABLE account coordination (Michigan ABLE)
• Pooled trust options
• Trustee selection and oversight provisions

How We Work: Our Estate Planning Process

We don’t sell templates. We build comprehensive, customized estate plans through a proven process designed to address your specific situation—not generic scenarios.

Step 1: Initial Consultation & Strategy

Your estate planning journey begins with a thorough consultation where we learn about your family, assets, goals, and concerns. This conversation covers everything from basic family structure to complex asset ownership, business interests, and legacy intentions.

During this meeting, we explain your options in plain language, answer every question you have, and develop your customized estate planning strategy. For most clients, we can identify the right approach and begin planning during this initial conversation. More complex situations may require additional analysis before finalizing the strategy.

Timeline: 30-90 minutes, typically 45-60 minutes (in-person at our Shelby Township headquarters, by telephone, or via secure video conference)

To schedule your initial consultation, call (586) 991-7611 or schedule online.

Step 2: Document Drafting

Our team drafts your complete estate plan. Every document is prepared specifically for your situation—not assembled from generic templates. We draft in clear, understandable language while ensuring every legal requirement is satisfied.

Timeline: Varies based on complexity—straightforward plans may be ready within days; complex estates may require additional time

Step 3: Review & Execution

We meet to review your documents, explain what’s included and why, cover the important provisions, and answer any questions. You’ll receive summary materials with your estate plan so you can review details on your own time and follow up with any questions.

For in-person clients: This meeting typically includes document execution with proper witnesses and notarization—you leave with your complete, signed estate plan.

For clients meeting remotely: We review everything during this meeting, then coordinate convenient document signing. We can arrange for a notary to come to you, making execution simple regardless of your location. Once signed, we assemble your complete estate plan binder and send it to you.

Timeline: 45-60 minutes for review (execution included for in-person clients)

Step 4: Trust Funding & Implementation

Your estate plan isn’t complete until your trust is properly funded, beneficiary designations are updated, and all assets are aligned with your plan. We provide detailed funding instructions and guidance to ensure implementation is complete.

Timeline: Ongoing as needed

Ongoing Relationship

Life changes. Your estate plan should change with it. We recommend reviewing your plan after major life events (marriage, divorce, births, deaths, significant asset changes) and at minimum every 3–5 years. We’re here when you need updates.

Why Michigan Families Choose Boroja, Bernier & Associates for Estate Planning

Your family’s legacy deserves more than cookie-cutter documents downloaded from the internet or rushed through a document mill. Here’s what makes our approach different—and why it matters.

Excellence Is Our Standard

Excellence is contagious, mediocrity is too. That’s not a poster on our wall—it’s how we approach every trust we draft, every will we execute, and every family we serve.

Most attorneys use the same template for every client and call it “customized.” We actually read your situation, understand your goals, and build documents that fit. Every document is reviewed. Every detail is verified. Every outcome is earned through meticulous work—because “good enough” isn’t good enough when your family’s future is at stake.

Our founding partner Daniel Boroja has earned recognition as a Michigan Super Lawyers Rising Star consecutively from 2016–2025 and inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® for 2026—recognition that reflects our commitment to excellence in every matter.

Accountability You Can Count On

Trust is built on accountability. When we say your documents will be ready Thursday, they’re ready Thursday. You’ll know exactly what to expect, when to expect it, and what your investment includes. No surprises. No hidden fees. No unreturned calls.

When questions arise after your documents are signed—and they will—we’re here. Your relationship with Boroja, Bernier & Associates doesn’t end at execution.

Statewide Service, Local Expertise

We serve Michigan families throughout the entire state. With headquarters in Shelby Township (Macomb County) and additional offices in Troy, Ann Arbor, and Lansing—plus virtual consultations available statewide—comprehensive estate planning is accessible wherever you live in Michigan.

Our attorneys know Michigan law intimately—the specific statutes, court procedures, and practical realities that affect your estate plan. We’re not a national firm applying generic documents to Michigan families. We’re Michigan estate planning attorneys serving Michigan families. That’s the difference.

Results Over Effort

Effort is expected—results are required. We don’t measure success by hours logged or documents drafted. We measure it by whether your estate plan actually protects your family when it matters. Trusts that avoid probate as intended. Powers of attorney that function without challenge. Beneficiary designations that send assets exactly where you wanted.

More than 2,000 families have trusted Boroja, Bernier & Associates with their estate planning since 2014. That experience informs everything we do—because you deserve better than generic, and we’re built to deliver it.

Frequently Asked Questions About Michigan Estate Planning

Michigan Estate Planning Resources

FREE DOWNLOAD: The Complete Michigan Estate Planning Checklist

Not sure where to start? Our comprehensive checklist walks you through every element of a complete estate plan—what you need, why you need it, and the information to gather before your consultation.

Download Your Free Checklist

Related Practice Areas:

• Probate & Trust Administration → When estate plans must be implemented after a loved one passes
• Elder Law & Medicaid Planning → Protecting assets and planning for long-term care
• Trust Administration → Managing trusts and fulfilling fiduciary duties

Recent Insights:

• 5 Estate Planning Mistakes That Cost Michigan Families Thousands
• Living Trust vs. Will: Which Is Right for Your Michigan Family?
• What Happens If You Die Without a Will in Michigan?
• When to Update Your Estate Plan: A Michigan Guide

Ready to Protect Your Family’s Future?

Your family’s legacy deserves more than generic templates or procrastination. Whether you’re creating your first estate plan or updating documents that no longer reflect your life, Boroja, Bernier & Associates is here to help.

Schedule a consultation and discover what it means to work with Michigan estate planning attorneys who raise the standard—because you deserve better.

Learn About Our Other Practice Areas

Offices: Shelby Township (Headquarters) | Troy | Ann Arbor | Lansing
In-person, phone, and virtual consultations available statewide.

Office Hours:
Monday – Thursday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Friday: 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Saturday & Sunday: By Appointment

Virtual and telephone consultations available statewide for your convenience.