Hammond Law Firm

Estate Planning Attorney in Howell, Michigan

Hammond Law Firm helps Howell-area individuals and families create plans for their property, financial affairs and medical decisions. Its estate-planning services include wills, revocable living trusts, financial powers of attorney and medical powers of attorney. The firm also helps clients implement their plans by addressing related documents, property ownership and beneficiary designations.

Estate planning is one part of a much broader practice. Hammond Law Firm also handles personal injury, family law, criminal defense, real estate, business law, workers’ compensation, Social Security disability and bankruptcy matters.

Dave Hammond has practiced law for more than 25 years, and the firm has been established in Howell since 1999. Hammond’s website states that clients consult with him directly. Estate-planning services are generally provided for a flat fee, with the amount depending on whether the client is single or married, which documents are needed and the complexity of the circumstances.

Who Should Receive Your Property—and When?

A will allows someone to identify the people or organizations who should receive property after death. It can address a home, bank accounts, investments, personal belongings, business interests and other assets that become part of the estate.

The plan can also specify how much each beneficiary should receive and when the property should be distributed. That timing can matter when a beneficiary is young, has a disability or may need someone else to manage an inheritance.

A will also names a personal representative. That person or institution is responsible for collecting estate assets, paying debts and taxes, and distributing the remaining property according to the will. Selecting someone in advance allows the client to decide who should assume that responsibility instead of leaving the matter entirely to Michigan’s default rules.

Hammond Law Firm also advises clients about revocable living trusts. Like a will, a trust can provide instructions for distributing property after death. A properly implemented trust can additionally provide for the management of trust assets during incapacity and may help a family avoid probate for property held in the trust.

Who Would Care for Your Children?

For parents, an estate plan involves more than deciding who should receive money or property. A will can nominate guardians and conservators for minor children if the parents die before the children reach adulthood.

The guardian would be responsible for the child’s care, while a conservator may be responsible for managing property belonging to the child. Those responsibilities require different abilities, and the same person is not necessarily the best choice for both roles.

A revocable living trust can provide additional instructions for managing a child’s inheritance. Rather than leaving property to be distributed outright at a particular age, parents can establish an ongoing plan for how trust assets should be managed and used for the child.

Hammond Law Firm’s estate-planning materials also discuss planning for adult children with disabilities. A family may need to consider both who can assist the adult child and how inherited property should be managed. The firm identifies revocable living trusts as one option for beneficiaries who would benefit from a more specialized plan of asset management and distribution.

An Illness Leaves You Unable to Pay Bills or Manage Property

A will does not authorize someone to act during its creator’s lifetime. If an accident, illness or cognitive decline leaves a person unable to manage financial affairs, relatives may need a separate source of legal authority.

A financial power of attorney allows a person to appoint an agent to handle the financial and business matters described in the document. The authority can take effect immediately or begin only when the person becomes incapacitated, depending on how the document is prepared.

The selected agent may need to pay household expenses, manage accounts, execute documents or address business matters. Choosing that person while healthy gives the client an opportunity to decide who is sufficiently dependable to handle those responsibilities.

A revocable living trust may provide another layer of planning for assets held in the trust. The person who creates the trust commonly serves as the initial trustee while capable of managing the property. A successor trustee can be named to take over during incapacity or after death.

Your Family Must Make Medical Decisions During a Crisis

A medical power of attorney allows someone to name a patient advocate who can make medical and healthcare decisions when the patient becomes unable to make those decisions independently.

This planning can become important after a severe injury, terminal diagnosis or other condition that prevents someone from communicating. Without advance direction, relatives may be uncertain about who is authorized to speak with medical providers or what treatments the patient would have wanted.

Hammond Law Firm helps clients document both the choice of patient advocate and decisions involving life-prolonging procedures. Discussing those matters before a crisis can give the selected advocate clearer guidance and reduce the burden on family members who might otherwise have to guess.

The Documents Are Signed—but the Property Still Needs Attention

Completing wills, trusts and powers of attorney is an important part of estate planning, but some plans also require changes to property ownership or beneficiary designations.

Hammond Law Firm’s planning process includes preparing the necessary documents, reviewing them with the client and working with the client to implement the resulting plan. Implementation may involve retitling appropriate assets or correcting beneficiary designations.

This is especially relevant to a trust-based plan. The firm explains that trust assets are managed by a trustee, which means the ownership of intended property must be addressed. A family that signs a trust but does not complete the related implementation steps may not receive all the benefits it expected from the arrangement.

Retirement accounts, life insurance and accounts with named beneficiaries also require attention because their beneficiary provisions may affect how the property transfers. Reviewing those arrangements alongside the other estate-planning documents can help keep the different parts of the plan pointed toward the same result.

Serving Howell and Several Southeast Michigan Counties

Hammond Law Firm’s main office is at 407 East Grand River Avenue in downtown Howell. The firm has been established in Howell since 1999, and Dave Hammond and his staff live and work in Livingston County.

The firm also reports having an office in Oakland County, although its website does not identify that office’s city or street address. Hammond Law Firm says its offices serve clients in Livingston, Oakland, Genesee, Shiawassee, Ingham, Washtenaw and Wayne counties.

Practice Areas

• Estate Planning

• Last Wills and Testaments

• Revocable Living Trusts

• Financial Powers of Attorney

• Medical Powers of Attorney

• Planning for Minor or Disabled Children

• Beneficiary Designation and Asset-Titling Review