Bain & Bain Law, Attorneys and Counselors at Law

Estate Planning and Probate Attorneys in Novi, Michigan

Bain & Bain, P.C. helps families prepare for incapacity, direct how property will be distributed and address legal responsibilities after a death. Its estate-planning program includes revocable trusts, pour-over wills, healthcare and financial powers of attorney, and funeral designation declarations.

The firm also represents clients in probate matters, guardianships and conservatorships. Its probate work ranges from opening and closing an estate to disputes involving wills, trusts, fiduciaries and beneficiaries.

Attorney John Bain Jr.’s practice centers on probate, estate planning, family law, criminal law and general business matters. Bain & Bain is therefore a broader law firm rather than a practice devoted exclusively to estate planning. Its family-law and business experience can intersect with estate-related concerns when a family includes minor children, a relative needs a guardian or an estate contains business or real-estate interests.

A Parent Has a Stroke and No One Has Authority to Act

A stroke, serious illness or other disabling condition can leave family members trying to make decisions for someone who can no longer communicate or manage personal affairs. The immediate questions may include who can speak with medical providers, access financial information, pay bills or address the person’s property.

Bain & Bain prepares durable healthcare powers of attorney that allow clients to select someone to act regarding healthcare decisions. It also prepares powers of attorney for financial decisions.

Without advance authorization, relatives may need to ask a probate court to appoint a guardian or conservator. That can add court proceedings and continuing oversight to a situation in which the family is already dealing with a medical crisis.

Choosing agents in advance also allows the individual, rather than other relatives or a judge, to decide who should assume these responsibilities. The person trusted with healthcare decisions may or may not be the same person best suited to manage financial matters.

A complete incapacity plan gives family members direction before help is urgently needed. It can identify who should act and establish the authority required to handle the responsibilities assigned to that person.

Who Would Raise Your Children if Both Parents Died?

Parents of minor children face estate-planning decisions that extend beyond distributing money. If both parents died, someone would need to care for the children and manage the property left for them.

An estate plan allows parents to record whom they want to serve as guardian. Without that direction, relatives may have different ideas about who should raise the children, and the ultimate decision may be left to a judge.

The inheritance itself presents another concern. When parents die without an appropriate trust arrangement, a conservatorship may be required to manage property inherited by a minor. The child may then receive control of the inheritance at age 18.

Parents may reasonably believe that an 18-year-old is not prepared to manage life-insurance proceeds, savings, a share of the family home or another substantial inheritance. A revocable trust can provide instructions about how the property will be managed and when it will be distributed.

Bain & Bain’s estate-planning program includes a revocable trust and pour-over will. These documents can be used to establish who will manage trust property and control when and how beneficiaries receive their inheritances.

Grandma Is Raising a Grandchild but Needs Legal Authority

Some children are cared for primarily by a grandparent, aunt, uncle or another relative. The arrangement may begin informally when a parent is dealing with substance abuse, incarceration, abandonment, neglect or another problem that interferes with parenting.

The caregiver may be handling the child’s daily needs but eventually discover that an informal family arrangement is insufficient. Schools, doctors and other institutions may require proof that the caregiver has legal authority to make decisions.

Bain & Bain represents third parties and parents in guardianship and conservatorship proceedings involving minor children. A guardianship may give a caregiver legal standing to address schooling, medical care and other important aspects of the child’s life. A conservatorship may be relevant when property or money must be managed for the child.

The firm also works with parents seeking to demonstrate that they have addressed the conditions that prevented them from caring for their children and are prepared to resume their parental responsibilities.

These proceedings often involve more than a disagreement between adults. The central practical concern is whether the child has a stable caregiver with the authority needed to provide care and make necessary decisions.

An Older Adult Wants to Plan Before Long-Term Care Becomes a Crisis

Estate planning can take on additional urgency as a person ages. An older adult may be concerned about who will manage finances during incapacity, what will happen to the home and savings, and whether long-term-care costs could affect the property intended for family members.

Bain & Bain counsels older clients about organizing their estate plans and addressing potential demands for reimbursement of nursing-home costs. The available planning options depend on the person’s property, health, family circumstances and timing.

Healthcare and financial powers of attorney remain important in this context. They allow the client to select trusted decision-makers before declining health makes independent action difficult or impossible.

A revocable trust and pour-over will can provide further direction concerning property and inheritance. A funeral designation declaration allows the client to identify the person who should make decisions concerning funeral arrangements.

For families, these documents address several connected questions: who will help while the older adult is alive, who will handle arrangements after death and how the remaining property should pass to beneficiaries.

A Loved One Dies and Someone Must Settle the Estate

After a death, family members may need to determine whether a probate estate must be opened, identify the heirs and address outstanding financial responsibilities. Bain & Bain handles the opening and closing of probate estates, creditor claims, beneficiary distributions and estate accountings.

The person responsible for the estate may need to locate property, determine how it was owned and establish which obligations must be addressed before beneficiaries receive distributions. When no clear beneficiary designation or estate plan controls an asset, Michigan inheritance law may affect who receives it.

Determining the heirs can become more complicated when family relationships are unclear or relatives have lost contact. An omitted spouse or child may also raise questions about whether that person has rights in the estate despite the language of a will.

Creditors may present claims that must be reviewed and handled through the probate process. The personal representative must also maintain records showing how estate property was collected, used and distributed.

For someone who has recently lost a parent, spouse or another relative, these administrative duties can arrive during a difficult period. Probate guidance can help the responsible person understand what must be done and in what order.

Family Members Believe a Will Was Changed Through Pressure or Fraud

Probate sometimes involves disagreement rather than routine administration. Bain & Bain handles probate litigation involving undue influence, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, will and trust contests, and other disputes.

Undue-influence concerns may arise when an older or dependent person makes an unexpected change benefiting someone who had significant access or control near the end of the person’s life. Other relatives may question whether the document reflected the person’s independent wishes.

A will or trust contest may also involve questions about the document’s validity, the person’s capacity when it was signed or whether legal requirements were followed. Fraud allegations may concern the creation of a document, the handling of property or information provided to beneficiaries and the court.

Not every probate disagreement concerns the validity of an estate plan. Beneficiaries may instead believe that a personal representative, trustee or another fiduciary has mishandled property, failed to provide an accounting or delayed distributions without adequate explanation.

Bain & Bain represents clients in disputes involving fiduciary duties, estate accountings and beneficiary distributions. The relevant evidence and available court remedies depend on the specific conduct being challenged and the client’s role in the estate or trust.

An Estate Plan Has Become Outdated

A plan that once reflected a person’s circumstances may become less useful as the family and property change. Marriage, divorce, a new child, the death of a chosen agent or beneficiary, a move or a significant change in finances may affect earlier decisions.

An outdated plan can create uncertainty about who should act during incapacity and who should receive property. A person named years earlier as trustee, agent or guardian may no longer be an appropriate choice. Property acquired after the original documents were prepared may also need to be considered.

Families with young children may need to reconsider guardians and inheritance arrangements as those children become adults. Older clients may become more concerned about incapacity and long-term care than they were when the plan was first created.

Reviewing the plan provides an opportunity to compare the existing documents with the person’s current family, property and priorities. It also allows the client to confirm that the people selected for important responsibilities remain available and willing to serve.

Estate Planning and Probate Services in Novi and Howell

Bain & Bain’s Novi office is located at 27780 Novi Road, Suite 225, Novi, Michigan 48377. The firm also maintains an office at 5860 Sterling Drive in Howell.

The practice serves clients across southeastern Michigan, including Brighton, Fowlerville, Northville, Plymouth, Livonia, Milford, Commerce, Redford, Farmington Hills, Walled Lake, Wixom, Highland, Fenton, Hartland and South Lyon.

Practice Areas

• Estate Planning

• Revocable Trusts

• Pour-Over Wills

• Healthcare Powers of Attorney

• Financial Powers of Attorney

• Funeral Designation Declarations

• Probate Administration

• Probate Litigation

• Will and Trust Contests

• Guardianships and Conservatorships

• Creditor Claims

• Determination of Heirs

• Estate Accountings and Beneficiary Distributions