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Michigan’s Medicaid asset limit for a single applicant in 2026 is $9,950 in countable assets. That’s not a typo. If you or a parent ever need nursing home care – which costs $10,000-$15,000 per month in Michigan – the state expects you to spend down nearly everything before it helps. And yet, the number one … Read more
When a loved one passes away in Michigan, families often encounter the term “probate” but may not understand its meaning or impact. Probate is the legal process for administering a deceased person’s estate, settling debts, and distributing assets to beneficiaries. Although sometimes necessary, probate can be time-consuming, costly, and stressful for families. However, with proper … Read more
When a loved one dies, immediate access to bank accounts is often a concern. Many assume a spouse or child can withdraw funds right away, but Michigan law does not always allow this. Access depends on account titling and prior estate planning. We advise clients in Oakland and Macomb Counties, and Southeast Michigan area, that … Read more
You thought Medicaid covered Mom’s nursing home care. It did, for as long as she was alive. Then a letter arrived from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services demanding reimbursement from her estate. The house you grew up in? It’s now at risk. Most Michigan families have no idea this is coming. They … Read more
A Michigan family paid $4,500 for a comprehensive trust-based estate plan. The attorney drafted solid documents. Mom signed everything. She filed the binder on a shelf, told the kids “everything is taken care of,” and went back to living her life. Fifteen years later, she passed away. Her three adult children opened the binder expecting … Read more
Serving as a personal representative or trustee is an honor, and a legal minefield. Michigan law imposes fiduciary duties on anyone who administers an estate or trust, and those duties come with teeth. Make the wrong call, and you’re not just inconveniencing beneficiaries. You’re exposing yourself to personal liability, meaning your own assets are on … Read more
Here’s a scenario that plays out across Southeast Michigan more often than most families expect: Mom lived her whole life in Macomb County, but she bought a condo in Florida fifteen years ago for the winters. She has three adult children, one still in Shelby Township, one in Texas, and one in California. She passes … Read more
Nobody plans to die without a will. But roughly 60% of American adults don’t have one – and Michigan families deal with the consequences of that gap every day in probate courts across the state. When a Michigan resident dies without a valid will, they die “intestate.” That doesn’t mean the state takes everything, a … Read more
When a Michigan parent passes away with both a trust and a will, someone has to step up and manage the aftermath. Often, that someone is the same person, an adult child named as both successor trustee of the parent’s trust and personal representative (executor) of the parent’s probate estate. Most people assume these are … Read more
Losing a loved one is overwhelming. Between grief, family dynamics, and the immediate demands of funeral arrangements, the last thing most people want to think about is legal paperwork. But if the person who passed owned property, held bank accounts, or left behind debts, their estate will likely need to go through probate – the … Read more