Fletcher, Fealko, Shoudy & Francis

Estate Planning, Probate & Elder Law Attorneys in Port Huron, Michigan

Families often encounter estate and probate issues during periods of significant change. An aging parent may lose the ability to manage financial or healthcare decisions. Someone may die without leaving a will or trust. A trustee or personal representative may suddenly be responsible for administering property for other family members. For a family that owns a farm or closely held business, another concern may be how that business can eventually pass to the next generation.

Fletcher, Fealko, Shoudy & Francis, P.C. provides estate planning, probate, trust administration, elder law, guardianship, conservatorship, and business succession services from its Port Huron office. The firm's estate-related work includes wills and trusts, durable powers of attorney, patient advocate designations, probate administration, and planning for the transfer of family businesses and farms.

Attorneys Marc Oswald and David Devendorf handle estate-related matters, with experience spanning estate and elder law, probate and trust administration, business succession, and tax planning.

Planning for a Parent's Incapacity

Estate planning can become particularly important when a family begins thinking about the possibility that a parent or other relative may eventually be unable to make important decisions independently.

Fletcher, Fealko, Shoudy & Francis prepares durable powers of attorney and patient advocate designations. These documents allow individuals to choose people to handle specified financial or healthcare responsibilities if assistance becomes necessary.

Marc Oswald's practice includes estate planning and elder law, with work addressing legal issues that arise from incapacity as well as death.

Putting decision-making arrangements in place ahead of time allows the individual to select trusted people for those responsibilities rather than addressing the question for the first time after capacity has declined.

Guardianship or Conservatorship When Court Authority Is Needed

Not every family has adequate advance arrangements in place before someone needs assistance.

Fletcher, Fealko, Shoudy & Francis handles guardianships and conservatorships, including matters involving elderly individuals. The firm also handles parental guardianship matters.

A guardian can receive court-established authority involving personal decisions for someone who requires assistance, while a conservator can be appointed to manage property and financial affairs.

These proceedings differ from powers of attorney and patient advocate designations created voluntarily in advance because authority must instead be established through the Probate Court.

For families, this can become relevant when an older or otherwise vulnerable person needs help and existing legal arrangements do not provide the authority necessary to address the situation.

A Family Member Dies Without a Will or Trust

Fletcher, Fealko, Shoudy & Francis specifically assists families facing a death where there is no will or trust.

The absence of an estate plan does not eliminate the need to deal with the deceased person's property. Instead, the estate may need to proceed under Michigan probate law without written instructions from the person who died.

Family members may need to determine who will take responsibility for the estate and how property will be administered and ultimately transferred.

The firm handles probate administration, allowing families to obtain assistance with the legal process that follows a death whether or not the deceased person left an estate plan.

Creating Wills and Trusts Before They're Needed

The firm also works with individuals and families who want to put their own plans in place before a death or incapacity creates an immediate legal problem.

Its estate-planning services include wills and trusts along with durable powers of attorney and patient advocate designations.

These documents can address different aspects of the plan. Wills and trusts concern the handling and transfer of property, while powers of attorney and patient advocate designations can establish authority during the individual's lifetime.

The appropriate arrangement depends on the client's family, property, and objectives. Planning ahead provides an opportunity to make these decisions personally rather than leaving family members to address as much as possible after a crisis has occurred.

Taking Responsibility for an Estate or Trust

After a death, someone may become responsible for administering either a probate estate or a trust.

Fletcher, Fealko, Shoudy & Francis handles probate administration, while Marc Oswald's practice also includes trust administration.

A personal representative administering an estate may have Probate Court responsibilities before property can ultimately be transferred. A trustee has a different responsibility: administering trust property according to the terms established by the person who created the trust.

Either role can place significant responsibilities on someone who has never administered an estate or trust before.

The firm's work in both areas allows it to assist families with post-death administration regardless of whether the property is being handled through probate or through a trust.

Passing a Family Business or Farm to the Next Generation

For some families, the most significant estate-planning issue isn't a house or investment account. It's a business or farm that may represent decades of work and a substantial part of the family's wealth.

Fletcher, Fealko, Shoudy & Francis handles business succession planning and family-business transitions. Its business practice also includes matters involving the sale and transfer of businesses.

David Devendorf has spent more than 35 years working with families on transferring farms and businesses to the next generation. His practice combines estate and business planning with tax experience.

Succession planning gives owners an opportunity to consider who should eventually receive or control the business and how the transition should occur. Those decisions can then be coordinated with the owner's broader estate plan rather than leaving the future of the business unresolved.

Tax Planning for Intergenerational Transfers

The transfer of a substantial business, farm, or other property can also raise tax considerations.

Devendorf earned a master's degree in taxation and has experience with planning involving gift, estate, and generation-skipping taxes.

For families transferring significant assets between generations, tax considerations can therefore be addressed alongside decisions about ownership and succession.

This work is particularly relevant when a family's estate includes an operating business or farm that parents hope to transition to children or later generations.

Estate and Elder Law Experience in Port Huron

Marc Oswald concentrates his practice in areas including estate planning, elder law, probate administration, trust administration, business and healthcare law, and real estate. His estate and elder-law work addresses issues arising from incapacity and death.

David Devendorf has practiced in Port Huron since 1978 after previously serving as a Navy JAG attorney. His work includes extensive experience helping families transfer businesses and farms between generations, along with estate, business, and tax planning.

Fletcher, Fealko, Shoudy & Francis is a broader law firm whose services also include business and corporate matters, real estate, litigation, municipal law, healthcare law, and other civil matters. Its estate practice draws on several of those areas when a family's estate includes a business, farm, or other property requiring additional legal planning.

Serving Port Huron and St. Clair County

Fletcher, Fealko, Shoudy & Francis is located at 1411 3rd Street, Suite F in Port Huron. The firm serves individuals, families, and businesses in St. Clair County and surrounding areas.

Practice Areas

• Estate Planning

• Wills

• Trusts

• Durable Powers of Attorney

• Patient Advocate Designations

• Elder Law

• Probate Administration

• Trust Administration

• Guardianships

• Conservatorships

• Business Succession Planning

• Family Business and Farm Transfers

• Estate and Gift Tax Planning

• Generation-Skipping Tax Planning