Estate planning is a powerful step toward peace of mind. It’s not just for the elderly or wealthy. On the contrary, it’s especially valuable for parents with children to protect. A thorough estate plan can not only address the needs of your children but also protect your values, assets, wishes and legacy.
I’m Jesse D. Bergwerff, an estate planning lawyer and the founder of Parakletos Law PLC in Hudsonville. The mission of Parakletos Law is one rooted in family, service and values. As a father and husband, I connect with the concerns you have for your children and loved ones. I infuse my practice with my strong Christian faith and work to build trusting relationships with clients.
I can help you craft the right Michigan estate planning tools for you and your family, which may include:
It’s also essential to pursue a new or updated estate plan when you’re facing family transitions like adoption or divorce.
If you die without a will, your estate will be subject to Michigan’s intestate laws. That means the state determines who gets which assets, and you have no say in that distribution. Under Michigan law, your spouse gets the entire estate if you died with no surviving descendants or parents. In most other situations, the spouse gets the first $150,000 of your estate plus half to two-thirds of the rest, depending on whether you have surviving children or parents.
The law provides that if you have no surviving spouse, the estate passes to your descendants. If there are no surviving descendants, your parents share the estate. If neither descendants nor parents exist, the surviving descendants of your parents will share the estate.
Note that intestacy laws do not allow for any distribution to domestic partners, children you did not adopt, or other people you might have thought of as family. Instead, your estate might go to distant relatives you had little or no relationship with during your lifetime.
Don’t let this happen to you. Make an appointment with the Hudsonville estate planning attorneys of Parakletos Law PLC to create an estate plan that allows you to protect your assets and make sure they pass to the important people in your life. Our faith guides our calling: helping the people of
Hudsonville, Holland, Wyoming, Allendale, Byron Center, Grandville, Jenison, Zeeland, and the surrounding communities with compassion and understanding.
Probate is the process of validating a deceased person’s will or overseeing the orderly distribution of their estate. The will, if there is one, and the deceased person’s estate must go through the probate process if a person owns property in their own name or has the right to receive property from someone else in the future.
Some types of property don’t pass through probate. Those ownership types include:
However, all other property is subject to probate. Either the probate court will appoint an executor or the will designates a personal representative. The executor or personal representative will be responsible for administering the estate. Those duties include valuing all the estate’s assets, paying all outstanding debts and taxes, distributing the remaining assets to the beneficiaries, and providing an accounting to the court.
Probate records are public records. All the assets in your estate will be made public. For many people, this is not a desirable outcome. If you wish to keep your assets private, talk to an estate planning lawyer from our law firm about creating a trust. Assets kept in trust do not pass through probate. An additional bonus is that distributions from the trust are likely to happen much sooner than distributions overseen by the probate court.
The Hudsonville estate planning lawyers with Parakletos Law PLC can meet with you to discuss your concerns about probate and explore ways to help you avoid it.
If your estate meets certain criteria, your estate may be eligible for a Small Estate Affidavit. This affidavit allows the transfer of your property without your estate going through probate. Your estate must meet these conditions to be eligible:
Once all these conditions are met, the heir needs to complete the Small Estate Affidavit Form. Although they can handle this process on their own, a lawyer in Hudsonville can make the process easier for them.
The heir must attach a copy of the death certificate, have their signature notarized, and submit all the documents to the probate court. After the procedures are followed, the property in the estate can be transferred. Call our law firm to talk with one of our Hudsonville attorneys about whether you should plan for your estate to pass to your descendants in this way.
Estate planning is an act of love and responsibility. It’s not a task reserved for later years; it’s a vital step for young families to take now. I take pride in empowering, supporting, encouraging and advocating for people like you. My goal is to craft an estate plan that reflects your unique family situation and goals, then walk with you through every step in the process.
Contact me today and let’s create an estate plan that carries your values forward and provides for your family’s needs.
