Do you know what happens in Michigan when you pass away without any spouse, children, parents, siblings, or grandparents? Neither did I until I worked on an incredibly complex probate case with this exact scenario. In this case, we were required to go up to the grandparents and down their lineage, and each grandparent had around ten siblings, and that was just the start. My job was to do the research to find everybody on the grandparent’s children’s level who were all deceased by then, their grandchildren, their great grandchildren and their great, great grandchildren.
While this may sound overwhelming to most, if you know me, you know this was a lot of fun and a great challenge. While searching for all the family members who were potential heirs, I simultaneously created a spreadsheet documenting all this information in a concise manner, including what share of the estate each one of them was likely to receive, and this was ultimately provided to the probate judge and all of the parties involved. I also love excel! This was my kind of project!
These are the kinds of things that can come up in a trust or probate matter and they are tasks I would say most personal representative and trustees would not want to tackle on their own, if at all. We work closely with clients and their estate planning attorneys to make sure tasks are completed in the most efficient manner with the least amount of stress for the client.
Unmarried clients and clients who are part of the LGBTQ+ community have a unique set of needs and we are here to be the resource and compassionate support our clients need.
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