Disabled Beneficiary Graduates; Trust Terminated
It’s not too often that a special needs trust beneficiary “graduates” from their disability. But a heartwarming Michigan case gave us a chance to reflect on the possibility this week. A little background: a special needs trust can be established for a beneficiary who is “disabled” by Social Security standards. It can even contain funds […]
Joint Tenancy Bank Accounts
Do you have a bank account with another person listed as a joint owner? You probably have a joint tenancy bank account. Does that mean that the other owner could empty the account? For that matter, could you? What is a joint tenancy bank account? How do you know if you hold your bank account […]
Cellphone File Admitted as Electronic Will in Michigan Probate Proceeding
The law permitting a digital or electronic will is rapidly developing. We have written about the idea of an electronic will before, advising readers not to rely on this developing law. A recent appellate court decision approved what appears to be the first purely electronic will in American legal history. Even as electronic will laws […]
Intestate Succession Rules Can Be Tricky to Apply
APRIL 4, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 13 March was “Write-a-Will” month (sometimes referred to as “Why a Will” month). Though we’ve never understood the difference, August will be “Make a Will” month again this and every year. In the United Kingdom, every March and October are “Free Wills” months. Or is it April?Or is that […]
Not Every Cognitively-Impaired Senior Needs a Conservator
SEPTEMBER 28, 2015 VOLUME 22 NUMBER 35 We handle a lot of guardianship and conservatorship proceedings at Fleming & Curti, PLC. We also meet with a lot of clients (or potential clients) and help them figure out how not to initiate a guardianship or conservatorship proceeding — we subscribe to the modern view that court […]
Lawyer Ordered to Return Funds Taken by Conservator
NOVEMBER 2, 2009 VOLUME 16, NUMBER 60 Michigan Attorney William R. Ford represented Preshus Graves, who had been appointed as conservator of her son Calvin Graves. Calvin Graves, then not quite three years old, had been injured in an automobile accident, and his mother had pursued a personal injury action against the driver of the […]