Barley & Bittner

Estate Planning Attorney in Howell, Michigan

Estate planning gives individuals and families an opportunity to make decisions about their property before those decisions become urgent. For someone who owns a home, additional real estate, a business interest or other significant assets, planning can also require looking at how those different pieces fit together.

Barley & Bittner, PC provides estate-planning services from its office on East Grand River Avenue in Howell. Attorney David T. Bittner has practiced law since 1992, with a practice that includes estate planning as well as real estate and business law.

Planning Before a Family Has to Sort Things Out

Putting an estate plan in place allows a person to consider what should happen to property while there is time to make those decisions carefully.

Without advance planning, family members can be left confronting important property questions during an already difficult period. Real estate, business interests and other assets may all need attention, and uncertainty about a loved one's intentions can make the situation more difficult.

Estate planning provides an opportunity to consider those issues in advance and create a plan that reflects the individual's property, family circumstances and priorities.

When Real Estate Is a Major Part of the Estate

For many Michigan families, a home is among their most valuable assets. Others may also own vacant land, rental property or additional real-estate interests.

Those assets can make estate planning more complicated than deciding what should happen to money in a bank account. The nature of the ownership interest, the people involved and the family's plans for the property can all matter.

David Bittner's practice includes both estate planning and real-estate law. His real-estate work encompasses purchases and sales, leases, land contracts, mortgages and other property matters.

That combination can be useful when someone preparing an estate plan has substantial real-estate interests. Planning can take the client's actual property holdings into account rather than considering the estate separately from the assets that comprise it.

When You Own a Business

A closely held business can present another set of estate-planning concerns.

For some owners, the company represents a substantial portion of their financial life. It may also involve other owners, employees and family members whose interests are affected when the owner can no longer participate in the business.

Bittner handles business-law matters in addition to estate planning. His business practice includes work involving corporations, limited liability companies and other business matters.

For an owner creating or reviewing an estate plan, the business interest is another asset that needs to be considered alongside personal property and real estate. Understanding the legal structure and ownership of the company can help place that asset in the context of the owner's broader estate.

When Life and Property Change

An estate plan reflects someone's circumstances at a particular point in time. Those circumstances can change considerably over the years.

A person may buy or sell real estate, establish a business, acquire additional assets or experience significant changes within the family. Decisions that made sense earlier in life may deserve another look as those circumstances evolve.

For someone whose wealth is concentrated in property or a privately owned business, changes involving those assets can be particularly significant. An estate plan that reflects what someone actually owns today is more useful than one based on circumstances that no longer exist.

Periodic attention to estate planning gives individuals an opportunity to reconsider their plans as their families, property and financial lives change.

A Howell Attorney With Estate, Real Estate and Business Experience

Barley & Bittner is located on East Grand River Avenue in Howell.

David T. Bittner has practiced law since 1992. His estate-planning work is complemented by experience in real-estate and business law, two areas that can intersect with estate planning when a client's property includes significant real estate or ownership of a company.

For Howell-area individuals and families, the firm provides a local option for addressing estate planning alongside related property and business concerns.

Practice Areas

• Estate Planning

• Estate Planning Involving Real Estate

• Estate Planning for Business Owners