Cummings, McClorey, Davis & Acho

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

Cummings, McClorey, Davis & Acho, P.L.C. (CMDA) is a multi-office law firm with an established Estate Planning and Elder Law practice that includes planning for incapacity and death, long-term care concerns, probate and trust administration, guardianships and conservatorships, and disputes involving estates and trusts. Founded in 1965, the firm has provided estate planning services throughout its history while developing a much broader legal practice serving individuals, businesses, municipalities, and other organizations.

For families, CMDA's estate practice can address circumstances ranging from preparing a first will or revocable trust to making decisions for an aging parent, administering an estate after a death, or resolving a disagreement over whether a will or trust accurately reflects a loved one's intentions.

When an Aging Parent Begins to Need More Help

Estate planning can take on a different urgency when an older parent's health or ability to live independently begins to decline. Families may suddenly be discussing whether a parent can remain at home, who can make decisions if the parent becomes incapacitated, how nursing-home care will be paid for, and whether Medicaid planning is appropriate.

CMDA's elder law practice addresses these interconnected issues. The firm counsels families on long-term care and nursing-home planning, Medicaid eligibility and applications, and legal arrangements for managing decisions when an older adult needs assistance.

Planning before a crisis can also include powers of attorney and patient advocate designations that establish who has authority to handle financial or healthcare decisions. When adequate arrangements are not already in place and an individual can no longer manage personal or financial affairs, the firm's work also extends to guardianship and conservatorship proceedings.

Making Sure an Estate Plan Works Beyond the Will

A will may be an important part of an estate plan, but it does not necessarily control every asset a person owns. Property can also pass through trusts, beneficiary designations, jointly held ownership, deeds, and other arrangements.

CMDA prepares wills and a variety of trusts while also advising clients about beneficiary designations, trust funding, and property-transfer strategies such as enhanced life estate deeds, commonly known as Lady Bird deeds. Looking at these pieces together can help identify situations in which the way an account or property is titled does not match what someone believes the estate plan will accomplish.

The firm's planning work also includes powers of attorney and healthcare documents, allowing clients to address who should act for them during incapacity as well as how property should ultimately pass after death.

Settling an Estate After a Family Member Dies

Even when a family agrees about the deceased person's wishes, someone still has to carry them out. Probate administration can involve identifying and protecting property, completing court procedures, dealing with creditors and taxes, and ultimately distributing assets to heirs or beneficiaries.

CMDA represents personal representatives and families through the Michigan probate process. The firm's work also includes trust administration for successor trustees responsible for carrying out the terms of a trust after the person who established it has died.

These responsibilities can be unfamiliar to someone who has never served as a personal representative or trustee. Legal guidance can help a fiduciary understand both the administrative work that needs to be completed and the obligations that come with managing property for an estate or its beneficiaries.

When a Will or Trust Suddenly Looks Different Than Expected

Estate disputes can become particularly difficult when relatives believe that a loved one's final documents do not reflect that person's actual intentions. Questions may arise after substantial changes are made late in life, someone unexpectedly receives a larger share of an estate, or a family member who expected to inherit discovers that he or she has been excluded.

CMDA handles contested probate matters in addition to routine estate administration. Its probate litigation work includes disputes over the validity and interpretation of wills and trusts, allegations involving fraud or undue influence, challenges involving disinheritance, and disputes concerning creditor claims.

This litigation practice gives the firm a role in estate matters that goes beyond preparing documents and administering uncontested estates. When disagreements cannot be resolved informally, its attorneys can represent interested parties through the probate litigation process.

Protecting Someone Who Can No Longer Manage Their Affairs

Not every incapacity situation has been anticipated through an estate plan. An adult may develop dementia, experience a serious illness or injury, or otherwise become unable to make appropriate personal or financial decisions without having effective legal arrangements already in place.

CMDA assists with guardianships, which generally concern personal and care decisions, and conservatorships involving an individual's property and financial affairs. These proceedings can arise when an aging parent needs protection, but they may also involve adults with disabilities or other individuals who cannot independently manage important aspects of their lives.

Guardianship and conservatorship matters can also become contested when relatives disagree over whether intervention is necessary or who should be given responsibility. CMDA's combination of elder law, probate, and litigation work allows the firm to address both the planning and disputed sides of these cases.

Planning for What Happens to a Family Business

For business owners, an estate plan may need to answer questions that extend well beyond the distribution of personal property. An owner's retirement, incapacity, or death can affect family members, co-owners, employees, and the continuing operation of the business itself.

CMDA includes business succession planning within its estate-related services. Because the firm also maintains a substantial business-law practice, its attorneys can address estate-planning concerns in conjunction with ownership and business issues rather than treating a closely held company as just another estate asset.

For families with more substantial or complex holdings, CMDA also provides wealth-transfer planning involving strategies such as irrevocable trusts, family limited liability companies and partnerships, charitable planning, and generation-skipping transfers. These techniques are not necessary for every estate, but they broaden the firm's capabilities when conventional wills and revocable trusts do not fully address a family's circumstances.

A Multi-Office Firm Serving Clients Across Michigan

CMDA's Livonia office is located on College Parkway and provides access to attorneys handling estate planning, elder law, probate, guardianship and conservatorship matters, and related disputes.

The firm's Michigan presence extends beyond Livonia, with additional offices in Clinton Township, Grand Rapids, and Traverse City. CMDA also maintains offices outside Michigan, giving it a considerably broader geographic footprint than a typical local estate-planning practice.

For Michigan families, that larger structure is particularly relevant when an estate matter overlaps with another legal issue. CMDA's overall practice encompasses areas including business and corporate law, litigation, real estate, municipal law, employment matters, insurance defense, and other civil matters, while its Estate Planning and Elder Law attorneys maintain a distinct focus on the legal problems surrounding aging, incapacity, death, and the transfer of property.

Practice Areas

• Estate Planning

• Elder Law

• Wills

• Revocable Living Trusts

• Special Needs Trusts

• Powers of Attorney

• Patient Advocate Designations

• Lady Bird Deeds

• Trust Funding

• Probate Administration

• Trust Administration

• Probate Litigation

• Will Contests

• Trust Disputes

• Guardianships

• Conservatorships

• Medicaid Planning

• Nursing Home and Long-Term Care Planning

• Business Succession Planning

• Wealth Transfer Planning

• Charitable Planning