Barone Law

Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Administration Attorneys in Plymouth, Michigan

Barone Law Offices, PLC helps individuals and families prepare estate plans, administer estates and trusts, and address matters involving guardianship, conservatorship, wills and trusts. Its estate-planning services include wills, revocable living trusts, durable financial powers of attorney and patient-advocate designations.

Estate planning is one part of a broader practice that also includes family law. The firm identifies attorneys Joe Barone and Maria Barone. Maria Barone practices exclusively in family law, including divorce, child custody, support, post-judgment enforcement, and prenuptial and postnuptial agreements. Joe Barone is associated with the estate-planning materials, including an estate-planning worksheet and a paper addressing federal estate-tax planning.

Barone Law is located at 607 South Main Street in downtown Plymouth. It serves families in the Plymouth, Canton and Northville communities. Clients who have difficulty traveling to the Plymouth office may be able to use the firm’s “Lawyer on Call” service, through which an attorney visits the client’s home to discuss the plan and complete the signing process.

You Own a Home but Have Never Made an Estate Plan

A family does not need substantial wealth before estate planning becomes relevant. A home, bank accounts, vehicles and personal belongings all raise questions about what will happen when the owner dies. Parents may also need to decide who should care for their children and who should manage property inherited by them.

Barone Law prepares plans ranging from a simple will to arrangements using different forms of trusts. The planning process begins with gathering information about the client’s family, property and intended beneficiaries. The firm provides an estate-planning worksheet that clients can complete before their initial appointment.

After discussing the client’s circumstances, the attorney recommends a plan and prepares drafts for review. Clients can ask questions and request appropriate changes before scheduling the signing appointment. This process gives them an opportunity to understand how the documents fit together rather than treating a will or trust as an isolated form.

Your Children Are Still Minors

Parents with young children face planning questions that go beyond deciding who receives their property. They may need to identify the person they would trust to raise their children if neither parent were available.

A will allows parents to nominate a guardian. This gives the parents an opportunity to express their preference based on which relative or friend they believe could best care for the children emotionally and financially.

Parents should also consider what would happen to property inherited by a minor. When a child receives assets directly, the probate court may need to appoint a conservator to receive and manage the property. That arrangement can involve ongoing court supervision while the child remains a minor.

An estate plan can distinguish between the responsibility for caring for the child and the responsibility for managing inherited property. Those jobs may be assigned to the same person or to different people, depending on the parents’ preferences and the abilities of the individuals involved.

Your Spouse Becomes Unable to Handle Financial Matters

Marriage does not automatically give one spouse unrestricted authority to sign documents or manage property belonging to the other. This can become a serious problem when illness, an accident or cognitive decline leaves a spouse unable to manage financial affairs.

Barone Law prepares durable powers of attorney that allow clients to designate someone to act for them if they become incapacitated. The authority granted depends on the document and the client’s decisions.

The firm gives the example of a married couple who needs to sell the family home after one spouse becomes mentally incapacitated. Even if the move would allow the couple to live closer to relatives, the capable spouse may not have the legal authority to sign closing documents on behalf of the incapacitated spouse.

Without an effective power of attorney, the family may need to seek the appointment of a conservator through probate court. That process generally involves a hearing and evidence concerning the person’s condition. Preparing a durable power of attorney in advance can identify who should act and help the family address financial matters without first seeking that court appointment.

Your Family May Need to Make Medical Decisions for You

A medical emergency can leave relatives trying to determine both what their loved one would have wanted and who has authority to make the decision. Barone Law prepares patient-advocate designations for this purpose.

A patient-advocate designation identifies the person authorized to make medical decisions when the individual cannot communicate or decide personally. It can also record instructions concerning life-support decisions.

This planning can reduce uncertainty for a spouse, adult child or other family member confronting a medical crisis. Instead of leaving relatives to disagree about who should speak with physicians, the document identifies the selected decision-maker. It can also give that person guidance about the patient’s wishes.

An effective patient-advocate designation may avoid the need for a court-appointed guardian to exercise the same healthcare powers. It can therefore help treating professionals determine more quickly who has authority to act while preserving decisions the client made in advance.

You Are Unsure Whether You Need a Will or a Living Trust

Wills and trusts serve different purposes, and having a will alone does not necessarily keep an estate out of probate. Property remaining in a person’s individual name at death may still require probate administration even when that person signed a valid will.

A will establishes directions for property passing through the estate. It can identify beneficiaries, nominate a guardian for minor children and name the personal representative who will administer the estate. It may also address how debts, taxes and administrative matters should be handled.

Barone Law also prepares revocable living trusts. A person who creates this type of trust generally retains control over the property while alive and competent. If property has been properly placed in the trust, a successor trustee can manage or distribute it under the trust’s instructions after the creator’s death.

Families may consider a living trust when they want to avoid probate for trust-owned property, keep distribution arrangements private or establish a way for someone to manage assets if the creator develops health problems. Trust planning can also help organize information about assets so that the successor trustee and beneficiaries can locate them.

The choice is not based on a single rule or asset threshold. It requires looking at the family, the property involved and what the client wants the plan to accomplish.

A Parent Has Died With Property in Their Name

Probate may be necessary when someone dies owning property individually without a surviving joint owner or beneficiary designation. The probate court provides a legal process for transferring that property because the deceased owner can no longer sign documents or direct a transfer.

Barone Law handles probate and trust administration. When there is a valid will, the administration generally follows its directions concerning beneficiaries and the person nominated to serve as personal representative. When there is no will, Michigan’s intestate-succession laws determine who inherits probate property.

After an estate is opened, the personal representative receives authority to handle the deceased person’s affairs. The work can include identifying assets, addressing debts and administrative expenses, distributing the remaining property and completing the steps required to close the estate.

The time required varies with the property, obligations and complications involved. For an adult child or surviving spouse, legal guidance can help explain which assets require probate and which may transfer through joint ownership, a beneficiary designation or a trust.

Relatives Disagree About a Will or Trust

Disagreements sometimes emerge over an inheritance, the interpretation of a will or trust, or the way an estate is being handled. These conflicts can become especially difficult when they arise among siblings or other relatives who are also coping with a death.

Barone Law identifies will and trust litigation as a practice area. The firm’s probate and estate work therefore extends beyond preparing documents and completing routine administration when a disagreement requires legal representation.

The circumstances of each dispute matter. Relevant documents, property ownership and the authority given to a personal representative or trustee need to be examined before the family can determine how the matter should be addressed.

An Older or Homebound Family Member Cannot Easily Visit an Office

Some people postpone estate planning because health, limited mobility or transportation problems make an office appointment difficult. Barone Law offers home visits through its “Lawyer on Call” service for individuals who have difficulty getting to the Plymouth office.

An attorney can meet with the person at home to discuss the proposed plan and return for document signing. This may be useful for an older adult who wants to complete a will, trust or powers of attorney but finds travel burdensome.

Direct participation by the person making the plan remains important. The documents need to reflect that individual’s decisions concerning beneficiaries, decision-makers and property rather than the preferences of relatives who may be assisting with the appointment.

Estate Planning in Plymouth, Canton and Northville

Barone Law’s office is located in downtown Plymouth and is associated with the Plymouth, Canton and Northville communities. Its combination of estate planning, probate and family-law services allows it to address several legal issues that may arise as family circumstances change.

Practice Areas

• Estate Planning

• Wills

• Revocable Living Trusts

• Durable Powers of Attorney

• Patient-Advocate Designations

• Probate Administration

• Trust Administration

• Will and Trust Litigation

• Guardianship and Conservatorship

• Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements

• Divorce and Child Custody

• Child Support

• Post-Judgment Family-Law Matters