Practice Areas
ESTATE PLANNING AND PROBATE
We help you plan for management and transfer of your land and other assets in the event of disability or death.
To avoid probate court, we use living trusts, joint ownership, financial and medical powers of attorney, deeds, assignments and other tools.
As part of your estate analysis we work with you and specialists to create a retirement and business succession plan. This makes sure your lifetime of hard work results in the best value for you and your heirs.
In the event a person dies with assets in his or her name alone, a probate court proceeding is necessary, even if there is a will. We help families through the mountain of paperwork at this difficult time.
In the event an adult is disabled and has no medical or financial power of attorney, a probate court guardianship or conservatorship may be necessary to make medical decisions and to have access to money to pay bills.
If a minor inherits money or other assets, a probate court supervised conservatorship is necessary to manage the money until the minor reaches age 18. If parents want to have the money held past age 18, a living trust can distribute the money to the minor as needed and pay out portions as the child becomes more mature.
CALL 248-886-8622 FOR A FREE ANALYSIS
OF YOUR ESTATE PLANNING AND PROBATE NEEDS
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BUSINESS LAW
We work with you and your accountant to choose the best way to set up your business. We prepare and file corporation and limited liability company documents in Lansing. We furnish forms to keep your minute book up to date to protect you in the event you are sued. Don’t have a corporate minute book? . . . You’re toast! Ask us why.
We make sure your business goes to the right people if someone retires or dies and that the family of the former owner is compensated. Do you really want your deceased co-owner’s son or wife as your new business partner? A buy-sell agreement can prevent this.
We represent buyers and sellers of businesses.
We can help with a business plan to determine whether your new business idea is going to make the money you want with the investment you can afford.
We review your business lease and help you renegotiate those special paragraphs about “triple net and common area expense” and “plate glass insurance” which can cost you more than the rent itself.
We work with you to create a retirement and business succession plan. This makes sure your lifetime of hard work results in the best value for you and your heirs.
CALL 248-886-8622 FOR A FREE ANALYSIS OF YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS
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REAL ESTATE
We represent clients in buying, selling or transferring real estate. We review and prepare residential and commercial leases with special clauses to protect you.
We prepare and record deeds to add a joint owner on your home to avoid probate. However, first we confirm there are no adverse tax, nursing home or liability consequences. We will review your current deed at no charge to make sure it has the right words to avoid probate. A common mistake is adding a child’s name without the “magic words” to create a right of survivorship. Then, the parent’s half must be probated when the parent dies, costing thousands of dollars.
We handle sales by owner without a Realtor from start to finish. You can save thousands of dollars if you avoid the customary 6% charge of the real estate agent. We help with advertising ideas, purchase agreements, and qualifying the buyer to save you time and money. We attend closings with you if necessary.
We can assist with land contract payoffs as a buyer or seller to make sure this important final step is done right and the deed and transfer tax are handled correctly. Common mistakes are failure to receive or record the deed after the payoff and not collecting the transfer tax from the seller.
If you have a tenant or land contract purchaser in arrears, we evict the tenant or forfeit the land contract to get possession back for you.
CALL 248-886-8622 FOR A FREE ANALYSIS OF YOUR REAL ESTATE NEEDS
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