Baar & Lichterman

Estate Planning & Elder Law Attorneys in Grandville, Michigan

Baar & Lichterman helps Grandville and West Michigan families prepare for death, incapacity, aging and the transfer of property to future generations. Its work includes estate planning, wills and trusts, elder law and Medicaid planning, asset protection, estate and trust administration, and planning for small-business owners.

The firm's estate work addresses problems that can arise at very different stages of life. Young parents may need to decide who will care for their children and manage an inheritance for them. Middle-aged adults may find themselves simultaneously supporting children and helping aging parents. Older clients may be concerned about long-term care, Medicaid or who will manage their property if they can no longer do so themselves.

Michael Lichterman's practice focuses substantially on estate planning, wealth transfer, asset protection, estate and trust administration and counseling small and family-owned businesses. His background also includes Michigan probate and estate-planning and elder-law certification through the State Bar of Michigan and ICLE.

Estate Planning Is Also About What Happens During Your Lifetime

A will determines what happens after death, but some of the most important estate-planning documents may be needed years earlier.

A serious illness, accident or decline in capacity can leave someone unable to manage bank accounts, property or other financial matters. Healthcare decisions may also need to be made when the person receiving care cannot communicate or make those decisions independently.

Baar & Lichterman's planning includes durable powers of attorney and healthcare planning so clients can designate the people they want to act if incapacity occurs. Making those choices in advance can be especially important when a spouse or adult child will eventually be the person trying to help.

Estate planning can also coordinate wills and trusts with the family's property and beneficiary arrangements so that the plan reflects what the client actually wants to happen.

Protecting Children and Other Beneficiaries

Parents with minor children have planning decisions that extend beyond deciding who inherits their property.

An estate plan can address who should care for the children and how inherited assets should be managed while they are still young. A trust can provide structure rather than requiring an inheritance to pass directly to a beneficiary as soon as legally permitted.

Baar & Lichterman also considers whether beneficiaries may need protection for other reasons. Its planning materials address concerns about creditors, scams and other circumstances that could put inherited property at risk.

These decisions allow parents to think not only about who should inherit but also whether that person is prepared to receive and manage the property outright.

When a Family Member With Special Needs Will Inherit

Leaving money directly to a person with a disability can create concerns when that individual receives means-tested government benefits.

Baar & Lichterman's estate planning addresses special-needs beneficiaries and the importance of considering continued government-benefit eligibility when determining how an inheritance should be structured.

For parents, this can become a long-term concern. They may currently provide financial and practical assistance to a child or other family member and need to determine how that support can continue after they are gone.

Planning ahead allows an inheritance to be considered alongside the beneficiary's existing resources and benefits rather than treating the inheritance as an isolated transfer.

Mom Moved to a Nursing Home — But Nobody Has Authority to Deal With Her Condo

Baar & Lichterman's elder-law materials illustrate why incapacity planning can matter through a particularly practical problem: an older parent enters a nursing home while still owning a condominium that requires attention.

Without appropriate authority already in place, adult children may discover that being someone's son or daughter does not automatically give them the legal ability to access accounts, pay expenses or deal with the parent's real estate.

The firm has addressed a situation in which children could not access their mother's money, pay condominium expenses or handle the property because she had not executed a durable power of attorney. A conservatorship ultimately became necessary.

A properly prepared incapacity plan can establish authority before a crisis reaches that point. When advance planning is no longer possible, families may instead need to consider guardianship or conservatorship proceedings.

When Adult Children Are Caring for Parents and Children at the Same Time

Many families encounter elder-law issues while the adult children are still responsible for their own households.

Michael Lichterman's work includes counseling members of the so-called sandwich generation—people simultaneously helping aging parents while raising or supporting children of their own.

A parent's declining health can introduce unfamiliar questions about decision-making authority, long-term-care costs, property and government benefits. Those issues may arrive while the adult child is already balancing work, children and other financial responsibilities.

Coordinating elder-law and estate-planning concerns can help the family determine what authority already exists, what additional planning may be possible and how an aging parent's changing needs affect the larger family.

When Long-Term Care Raises Medicaid and Asset Concerns

The possibility of assisted living or nursing-home care can change the financial questions facing an older person or couple.

Baar & Lichterman handles Medicaid planning and qualification as part of its elder-law practice. Its estate-planning process also specifically considers whether clients are concerned about protecting assets from potential Medicaid claims if long-term care becomes necessary.

For families, Medicaid planning can intersect with property ownership, existing estate documents and decisions about how assets should be managed as care needs increase.

Addressing those questions before or during a transition to long-term care can be especially important when family members are trying to make financial decisions while simultaneously arranging appropriate care.

When the Family Business Is Part of the Estate

A small or family-owned business may represent years of work as well as a significant portion of the owner's wealth.

Michael Lichterman counsels small-business and family-business owners in addition to his estate-planning work, while Joel Baar's practice includes substantial business and real-estate experience.

That combination can matter when an owner's personal estate plan cannot realistically be separated from the company. The family may need to consider what happens to the owner's business interest after death or incapacity and how that interest fits with property being transferred to other beneficiaries.

Planning while the owner is still actively involved provides an opportunity to address the business as part of the family's broader financial and estate-planning picture.

Keeping a Family Cottage in the Family

Michigan families sometimes want a cottage or other cherished real estate to remain with children or later generations rather than simply being sold after the owner's death.

Real estate transfers can involve consequences beyond deciding who receives the property. Baar & Lichterman's real-estate work has included helping families structure transfers of family cottages with Michigan property-tax uncapping considerations in mind.

For a family hoping to preserve a cottage, coordinating the real-estate transfer with the owner's larger estate plan can help address both the family's intentions and the legal consequences of changing ownership.

This can be particularly important when property that carries substantial emotional value is also a significant financial asset.

After Mom or Dad Dies, the Plan Has to Be Administered

Even a well-prepared estate plan requires someone to carry it out.

Baar & Lichterman handles estate and trust administration. When probate is required, a personal representative may need legal authority to deal with financial institutions and other parties, gather property, address estate obligations and ultimately distribute assets.

The firm's probate materials address Michigan Letters of Authority, which establish the personal representative's authority to act on behalf of an estate. For a son, daughter or surviving spouse who has never administered an estate before, obtaining that authority may be one of the first steps in dealing with a deceased family member's property.

Trust administration can provide a different process when property was properly transferred to a trust during the owner's lifetime. A fully funded living trust may allow trust property to be administered without opening a probate estate for those assets.

A Grandville Firm Serving West Michigan

Baar & Lichterman is located at 3140 Red Mill Avenue SW in Grandville, Michigan. The firm describes its practice as serving individuals, families and businesses throughout West Michigan.

Its broader work includes business and real-estate matters in addition to estate planning and elder law. That can be useful when an estate includes property or a closely held business that requires legal attention beyond preparation of wills and trusts.

For families, the firm's estate practice spans much of the planning cycle—from establishing documents while everyone is healthy to addressing incapacity and long-term care, protecting vulnerable beneficiaries and eventually administering an estate or trust after death.

Practice Areas

• Estate Planning

• Wills & Trusts

• Elder Law & Medicaid Planning

• Asset Protection

• Special Needs Planning

• Estate Administration

• Trust Administration

• Business Planning