Couzens Lansky, Attorneys & Counselors

Estate Planning, Probate & Trust Administration Attorneys in Farmington Hills, Michigan

Estate planning can become increasingly complex when it involves more than passing assets from one generation to the next. Business ownership, investment property, blended families, charitable giving, retirement accounts, and tax considerations can all influence how an estate plan should be structured. Couzens Lansky's Trusts & Estates practice assists individuals, families, business owners, and fiduciaries with planning for these circumstances while also helping clients navigate probate, trust administration, and estate-related disputes.

As one of the firm's established practice groups within a full-service law firm, the Trusts & Estates team works alongside attorneys in areas such as business law, taxation, real estate, and litigation when matters overlap. This multidisciplinary approach is reflected throughout the firm's estate planning services, particularly for clients whose financial or family situations extend beyond a straightforward will or trust.

Planning for Families, Business Owners, and Future Generations

Estate planning often begins with questions that have no single answer. Parents may want to provide fairly for children while accounting for different financial circumstances. A family business owner may hope the company remains successful after retirement without creating conflict among heirs. Others want to preserve a cottage or investment property that has been in the family for decades.

Couzens Lansky works with clients to develop estate plans that address these types of long-term objectives. Depending on a client's circumstances, planning may include wills, trusts, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, lifetime gifting strategies, charitable planning, business succession planning, and other legal tools intended to carry out a client's wishes while coordinating with personal, financial, and business goals.

Coordinating Estate Planning with Tax and Wealth Transfer Strategies

For some families, transferring wealth involves more than deciding who receives particular assets. Tax considerations, ownership structures, retirement accounts, and charitable objectives may all become part of the planning process.

The firm's Trusts & Estates attorneys regularly advise clients on strategies involving estate and gift taxes, charitable giving, lifetime transfers, family entities, and other planning techniques that may help accomplish long-term goals. Rather than treating tax planning as a separate issue, the firm's materials present it as one component of a comprehensive estate plan that should be evaluated alongside family circumstances and financial objectives.

Helping Family Businesses Prepare for the Next Chapter

Passing a closely held business to the next generation often presents challenges that extend beyond traditional estate planning. Owners may need to determine who will manage daily operations, how ownership interests will be transferred, whether children will inherit equal ownership, and how succession decisions affect employees, partners, and family members.

Couzens Lansky's practice reflects significant experience working with business owners whose estate plans intersect with succession planning, corporate ownership, tax considerations, and long-term family planning. Because the firm also maintains established business and corporate law practices, estate planning can be coordinated with legal issues affecting the business itself when appropriate.

Guiding Personal Representatives Through Probate Administration

Many people first encounter probate only after the death of a family member, when they unexpectedly become responsible for administering an estate. Personal representatives may need to locate assets, satisfy creditor claims, communicate with beneficiaries, prepare inventories, file required documents with the probate court, and oversee the distribution of property according to a will or Michigan law.

Couzens Lansky assists personal representatives throughout this process, helping them understand their legal responsibilities and navigate the administrative requirements involved in settling an estate. Whether probate is relatively straightforward or involves more complicated assets or family circumstances, the firm's role is to guide fiduciaries through each stage of administration.

Assisting Trustees After a Trust Becomes Active

Creating a trust is only one part of the planning process. After a grantor dies or becomes incapacitated, trustees assume legal responsibilities that may include managing investments, maintaining records, communicating with beneficiaries, preparing accountings, coordinating tax filings, and distributing trust assets according to the trust agreement.

The firm's trust administration practice assists trustees as they carry out these fiduciary duties. By advising trustees throughout the administration process, the firm helps clients understand both the legal obligations and practical responsibilities that accompany serving in this role.

Preparing for the Possibility of Future Disagreements

Even carefully prepared estate plans do not always prevent disagreements. Questions regarding the interpretation of wills and trusts, allegations of undue influence, disputes among beneficiaries, or disagreements involving fiduciaries can arise during estate or trust administration.

Because Couzens Lansky also maintains an established litigation practice, the firm represents clients in estate- and trust-related disputes when contested matters require court involvement. This includes litigation involving wills, trusts, fiduciary responsibilities, and other probate-related conflicts.

A Collaborative Trusts & Estates Practice

The firm's Trusts & Estates group includes attorneys whose practices encompass estate planning, taxation, probate administration, business succession planning, trust administration, and related areas of law. Rather than approaching every matter from a single perspective, attorneys frequently collaborate with colleagues in the firm's business, tax, real estate, and litigation departments when a client's situation involves multiple legal issues.

This collaborative structure reflects the reality that estate planning often overlaps with other areas of a person's financial and professional life, particularly for business owners, individuals with significant real estate holdings, or families managing multi-generational wealth.

Serving Clients Throughout Southeastern Michigan

Couzens Lansky represents clients from its Farmington Hills office, serving individuals, families, business owners, fiduciaries, and beneficiaries throughout Oakland County and the surrounding communities. As a full-service law firm, it provides estate planning, probate, trust administration, and related legal services while drawing on attorneys in complementary practice areas when matters involve taxation, business interests, real estate, or litigation.

Practice Areas

• Estate Planning

• Wills

• Trusts

• Probate Administration

• Trust Administration

• Estate & Gift Tax Planning

• Business Succession Planning

• Charitable Planning

• Powers of Attorney

• Patient Advocate Designations

• Trust & Estate Litigation