Cooper, Riesterer & Gross

Estate Planning, Probate & Elder Law Attorneys in Brighton, Michigan

A good estate plan has to account for more than what happens to property after someone dies. Families may need to decide who can manage finances during an incapacity, how an aging parent will afford long-term care, how an inheritance should be handled for a beneficiary with disabilities, or what will happen to a closely held business when its owner retires or dies.

Cooper, Riesterer & Gross PLC helps individuals and families address these issues from its Brighton office. The firm's estate-related practice encompasses estate planning, probate and trust administration, elder law, Medicaid planning, special needs planning, guardianships and conservatorships, and business succession planning. Its capabilities in elder law and disability planning were expanded through the addition of the Nawrocki Center for Elder Law, Special Needs, and Disability Planning.

Attorneys involved in the firm's estate practice include Jennifer L. Gross, whose work includes estate planning and probate and trust administration and litigation; Parker A. Fisher, an estate planning and probate attorney whose practice includes trusts and asset protection; and Chloe E. Rosa, whose practice includes estate planning.

Planning for Death — and for the Years Before It

Wills and trusts answer important questions about what should happen after a death, but Cooper, Riesterer & Gross also helps clients prepare for circumstances that can arise during their lifetimes.

An illness, accident or cognitive decline can leave someone unable to manage finances or make important personal decisions. Estate planning can establish authority in advance so that trusted people are available to act when necessary rather than leaving a family to determine its options during a crisis.

The firm's planning work includes wills, trusts and powers of attorney, along with more specialized trusts when a family's circumstances require them. CR Law also handles estate-tax planning and more sophisticated strategies such as asset-protection trusts and charitable remainder trusts.

The appropriate plan depends on the family and the property involved. A young family concerned primarily about children may need a very different plan from a retired couple worried about incapacity and long-term care, or a business owner whose wealth includes an operating company.

When an Aging Parent Needs Long-Term Care

A move to a nursing home can quickly turn into both a care crisis and a financial crisis. Families may be trying to find appropriate care while simultaneously confronting questions about Medicaid eligibility and what will happen to a lifetime of accumulated savings.

Cooper, Riesterer & Gross provides Medicaid planning as part of its elder-law practice. The firm helps clients evaluate eligibility and available planning strategies, including legally permissible steps that may protect assets while addressing the cost of long-term care.

This work can be important before nursing-home care becomes necessary, but families do not always have the opportunity to plan years ahead. A sudden illness or decline may force a spouse or adult child to address these questions much sooner than expected.

Rather than assuming that nothing can be done once long-term care becomes necessary, families can obtain advice about the Medicaid rules and planning options that apply to their circumstances.

Helping a Parent Who Can No Longer Manage Their Affairs

Families sometimes recognize that an aging parent or another vulnerable adult is no longer able to safely make important personal or financial decisions.

CR Law handles guardianship and conservatorship proceedings, including evaluating the circumstances, preparing petitions, appearing at hearings and addressing ongoing requirements such as inventories and accountings.

The firm's approach also recognizes an important question: Is a guardianship or conservatorship actually necessary?

Existing powers of attorney or other arrangements may sometimes provide an alternative to court-supervised proceedings. Evaluating those possibilities can matter because guardianship and conservatorship involve judicial oversight and continuing responsibilities for the person appointed.

When court involvement is necessary, the family may need guidance not only obtaining the appointment but understanding the duties that follow it.

Providing for a Family Member with Special Needs

An inheritance that works well for one beneficiary may create problems for another.

Cooper, Riesterer & Gross assists families with special needs planning, including special needs trusts for beneficiaries who require additional protection. This planning can be particularly important when parents or other relatives want to provide financial resources for someone with disabilities while also considering that person's continued eligibility for needs-based benefits.

Instead of simply leaving property directly to the beneficiary, a properly structured plan can establish how resources will be held and managed for that person's benefit.

The firm's connection with the Nawrocki Center for Elder Law, Special Needs, and Disability Planning gives this work a particularly relevant place within its broader estate and elder-law practice.

You've Been Named Personal Representative — What Happens Now?

Being named in someone's estate plan can result in a substantial legal and administrative responsibility after that person dies.

Cooper, Riesterer & Gross assists personal representatives through the probate process. Its probate work can include opening an estate, locating and identifying assets, addressing creditor claims, handling or selling estate property, preparing accountings, communicating with beneficiaries and transferring property to the people entitled to receive it.

For someone who has never administered an estate, these responsibilities can be unfamiliar and time-consuming. The personal representative must deal with the deceased person's property while also satisfying legal obligations to creditors, beneficiaries and the probate court.

Complications can arise when property needs to be sold, assets are difficult to identify, beneficiaries disagree or someone challenges the validity of a will. CR Law's practice includes probate and trust litigation in addition to administration, allowing the firm to handle contested issues when an estate does not proceed smoothly.

Serving as Trustee Comes with Responsibilities

A person chosen as trustee may discover that the position involves considerably more than distributing money to family members.

Cooper, Riesterer & Gross advises trustees on the administration of trusts, including interpreting trust provisions, preparing inventories, dealing with creditors, managing or selling property, addressing tax-return needs, preparing accountings and making distributions to beneficiaries.

Those responsibilities can become particularly demanding when a trust will continue for an extended period, owns complicated property or has beneficiaries with competing expectations.

Trust disputes can create another layer of difficulty. CR Law also handles challenges and litigation involving trusts, providing representation when disagreements cannot be resolved through routine administration.

Estate Planning for Business Owners

For a business owner, an estate plan may need to answer a question that an ordinary will cannot resolve by itself: What happens to the company?

Cooper, Riesterer & Gross has practiced in business and real-estate law since the firm's beginnings in 2000, making business succession a natural point of intersection with its estate-planning work.

A closely held company may represent a substantial portion of an owner's wealth. Retirement, incapacity or death can therefore affect employees, business partners and family members as well as the owner.

The firm handles business succession planning to help clients prepare for the future ownership and continuation of their businesses. This allows business planning and personal estate planning to be considered together rather than leaving the fate of an operating company disconnected from the owner's broader plan.

Planning for Estates with More Complex Assets

Not every family requires sophisticated wealth-transfer or asset-protection strategies. For clients whose circumstances warrant additional planning, however, CR Law's practice extends beyond basic wills and revocable trusts.

The firm handles estate-tax planning and asset-protection planning, including asset-protection trusts. Its estate practice also encompasses charitable remainder trusts and other trust strategies.

These tools may become relevant when a client has substantial assets, owns a business, has particular charitable objectives or faces risks that make the ownership and future transfer of property more complicated.

CR Law's broader experience in business and real-estate matters can also be relevant when an estate contains interests that are less straightforward than ordinary financial accounts.

Veterans Facing the Cost of Care

The firm's elder-law work also includes assistance with veterans benefits.

Cooper, Riesterer & Gross has VA-accredited attorneys and assists eligible veterans and surviving spouses with pension benefits, including Aid and Attendance. Its work can include evaluating eligibility, appropriate asset restructuring, preparing applications and pursuing appeals when appropriate.

These benefits can become particularly significant when a veteran or surviving spouse requires additional assistance and the family is confronting the expense of long-term care.

For families dealing with both veterans-benefit and Medicaid questions, those issues can form part of the larger challenge of finding a sustainable way to pay for care while protecting available resources within applicable rules.

Estate and Elder Law Guidance from Brighton

Cooper, Riesterer & Gross is based in Brighton and serves clients in Livingston County and throughout Southeast Michigan.

Its estate practice is particularly well suited to problems that cross traditional practice-area boundaries. A business owner may need both succession and estate planning. An older adult may need an estate plan that anticipates Medicaid and long-term-care concerns. Parents of a person with disabilities may need specialized trust planning. A personal representative or trustee may need assistance managing property while fulfilling legal obligations to beneficiaries.

By combining estate planning and probate with elder law, disability planning and the firm's longstanding business and real-estate capabilities, CR Law can address these interconnected issues as families move through different stages of life.

Practice Areas

• Estate Planning

• Wills

• Trusts

• Powers of Attorney

• Probate Administration

• Trust Administration

• Probate Litigation

• Trust Litigation

• Elder Law

• Medicaid Planning

• Long-Term Care Planning

• Special Needs Planning

• Special Needs Trusts

• Guardianships

• Conservatorships

• Business Succession Planning

• Estate Tax Planning

• Asset Protection Planning

• Asset Protection Trusts

• Charitable Remainder Trusts

• Veterans Benefits

• Aid and Attendance Benefits