Most Michigan families don’t set out to put their loved ones through probate. But that’s exactly what happens when assets aren’t structured to transfer outside the court system, and it happens far more often than people expect. Probate is Michigan’s court-supervised process for settling an estate after someone dies. It’s public, it takes time, it … Read more
Why Age Matters When Telling Children About Divorce The hardest conversation most Michigan parents will ever have isn’t the one where you tell your spouse you want a divorce. It’s the one where you tell your children. You stand at the edge of a broken bridge. You know you have to cross it. Your children … Read more
Don’t Let a Probate Judge Decide Who Runs Your Company You built your business through years of decisions, risks, and relentless effort. But if you die or become incapacitated without a coordinated plan, a Michigan probate judge, someone who has never set foot in your office, could end up deciding who runs your company, whether … Read more
Nothing tests a co-parenting relationship faster than the holidays. Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas morning, spring break trips, these aren’t just dates on a calendar. They’re the moments children remember, and they’re the moments that generate more emergency motions in Wayne, Macomb, and Oakland County courts than almost any other parenting-time issue. The problem usually isn’t that … Read more
There’s a moment that catches most families off guard. A parent is hospitalized after a stroke or a fall. Decisions about ventilators, feeding tubes, surgery, and long-term care need to be made immediately, and nobody in the family has legal authority to make them. The doctors ask questions. The siblings disagree. And the person whose … Read more
Your divorce is final. The paperwork is signed, the assets are divided, and you’re ready to move forward with your life. But there’s one critical step most people forget: updating your estate plan. Here’s the uncomfortable truth, if you die tomorrow with your old documents in place, your ex-spouse might still inherit your retirement accounts. … Read more
Divorce Is a Legal Process, But the Hardest Part Isn’t the Paperwork The judgment of divorce arrives as a document. A few pages. Signatures, dates, property divisions, parenting-time schedules. And then the courtroom goes quiet, and you walk out into a life that looks fundamentally different from the one you walked in with. For Southeast … Read more
If you’re not married in Michigan, the law usually treats your partner like a legal stranger – even if you’ve lived together for 15 years, bought a house, and raised kids. Michigan has no statewide domestic partnership status, and “we’re basically married” doesn’t create property rights, support rights, or inheritance rights. Michigan abolished common law … Read more
If you’re a wartime veteran, or the surviving spouse of one, you may be sitting on benefits you don’t even know exist. VA Aid & Attendance can provide over $2,400 per month to help pay for long-term care. Yet most eligible veterans never apply. They don’t know the benefit exists, assume they don’t qualify, or … Read more
For many Wayne County retirees, an IRA or 401(k) is the single largest asset they own, bigger than the house, bigger than savings, bigger than anything else in the estate. And yet it’s the asset most likely to be poorly coordinated with the rest of their legal plan. Here’s why that matters: retirement accounts don’t … Read more
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Address
Boroja, Bernier & Associates
Corporate Office
49139 Schoenherr Rd. Shelby Township, MI 48315
(586) 991-7611
By Appointment Only
100 West Big Beaver Road, Suite 200, Troy, MI 48084
(248) 677-2250
2723 South State Street, Suite 150, Ann Arbor, MI 48104
(734) 749-9400
120 N Washington Square Suite 300, Lansing, MI 48933
(517) 760-6600
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