Harvey Legal Group

Estate Planning, Probate & Guardianship Attorneys in Ann Arbor, Michigan

A family may need legal help long before anyone dies. An accident can leave an adult unable to manage money or make medical decisions. A parent may worry about who would care for young children. An older relative may begin losing the ability to live safely without assistance.

After a death, the questions change. Someone must identify property, address debts, meet probate-court deadlines, communicate with beneficiaries, and determine how a will or trust should be carried out. If relatives disagree, an already difficult process can quickly become a legal dispute.

Harvey Legal Group, PLLC helps Michigan families with estate planning, probate, trust and estate administration, guardianships, conservatorships, mediation, and contested estate matters. The firm has client-meeting locations in Ann Arbor, Northville, and Allen Park.

I Need a Will

A will allows you to state who should receive property passing through your estate and who should be responsible for carrying out your instructions.

For parents, it can also nominate the person they would want to care for minor children. Without clear instructions, surviving relatives may have to ask the probate court to decide who should take responsibility.

Harvey Legal Group prepares wills based on each client’s family and property. A will may be sufficient for some people, while others may want the additional control offered by a trust.

The decision should begin with the client’s goals rather than an assumption that everyone needs the same documents.

Would a Living Trust Be Better for My Family?

A living trust can hold and manage property during the person’s lifetime and continue after death for the benefit of family members or other beneficiaries.

Harvey Legal Group’s website identifies several situations in which a trust may deserve consideration. These include owning a home or business, holding substantial investments, raising minor children, supporting someone with special needs, going through a divorce, or wanting greater control over how and when beneficiaries receive an inheritance.

A revocable living trust can generally be changed while the person who created it remains alive and capable. It can name a successor trustee to manage trust property after incapacity or death.

The firm also discusses irrevocable trusts, which may be used when a plan requires restrictions that cannot later be easily changed. Because those arrangements can have lasting consequences, they require careful consideration before property is transferred.

We Created a Trust, but Are the Assets Actually in It?

Signing a trust document does not automatically place every asset into the trust.

Bank accounts, investments, real estate, and other property may need to be retitled or otherwise coordinated with the plan. This process is commonly called funding the trust.

Property left outside the trust may still require probate unless it passes through another arrangement, such as joint ownership or a beneficiary designation. A pour-over will can direct certain remaining property into the trust after death, but that property may still have to pass through probate first.

Harvey Legal Group assists clients with living trusts and explains the importance of coordinating ownership, beneficiary designations, and estate-planning documents rather than treating the signed trust as the end of the process.

Who Will Manage My Finances If I Cannot?

A serious illness, injury, or progressive condition may leave someone unable to pay bills, manage property, sign documents, or oversee investments.

A durable financial power of attorney names an agent who can act for that person. Depending on how the document is written, the authority may begin immediately or only under specified circumstances.

This planning is not limited to permanent incapacity. Someone may need assistance because of physical limitations, extended travel, military service, or a temporary medical condition.

Choosing the right agent is important. The person may receive substantial authority over accounts and property, so the decision should be based on trustworthiness, judgment, and willingness to serve.

Who Will Make Healthcare Decisions for Me?

A healthcare power of attorney allows an adult to name someone to make medical decisions when the patient cannot make or communicate those decisions independently.

The document can also provide guidance about treatment preferences. This gives the appointed person both legal authority and a clearer understanding of what the patient would want.

Harvey Legal Group recommends addressing this issue once someone reaches adulthood rather than waiting until age or illness makes incapacity seem likely.

The document should also be reviewed after major relationship changes. A person going through divorce, for example, may no longer want a spouse to retain authority over medical decisions.

We Have a Child or Beneficiary Who Needs Protection

Leaving money directly to a minor child or a person who cannot manage property may create additional problems.

A trust can state how funds should be used, select a trustee to manage the property, and delay or control distributions. This may protect an inheritance from being handed over outright before the beneficiary is prepared to manage it.

Harvey Legal Group specifically identifies trusts as useful for minor children and people with special needs. It also helps parents nominate guardians for children through their estate plans.

The right structure depends on the beneficiary’s circumstances, the assets involved, and the family’s long-term goals.

Mom Is Developing Dementia

Families often begin looking for help after an older relative starts missing payments, making unsafe decisions, or struggling with activities of daily living.

A valid power of attorney or trust may already give a chosen person authority to help. When no effective planning document exists and the individual has lost legal capacity, the probate court may need to appoint a guardian, conservator, or both.

A guardian generally makes decisions concerning care and living arrangements. A conservator manages money and property and must comply with court-supervised reporting requirements.

Harvey Legal Group assists families seeking guardianships and conservatorships for people affected by dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, developmental disabilities, accidents, and other conditions that impair decision-making. The firm also handles situations involving minors whose parents have died or cannot provide care.

Dad Died, and I Am Responsible for the Estate

A personal representative may need to locate assets, determine their value, address valid debts, meet filing and accounting deadlines, and distribute property according to a will or Michigan law.

These responsibilities can be difficult to manage while grieving. Questions may arise about whether a bill is legitimate, whether property should be sold, or how assets should be divided among beneficiaries.

Harvey Legal Group guides personal representatives and families through estate administration whether the deceased person left an estate plan or died without one.

The firm also assists trustees with trust administration, including situations in which the trust may need probate-court supervision because a disagreement has developed.

My Family Is Fighting Over the Estate

Grief and money can intensify long-standing family conflict.

A disagreement may concern the validity of a will, the interpretation of a trust, the selection of a personal representative, the conduct of a trustee, the handling of estate property, or whether a fiduciary should be held financially responsible for a loss.

Harvey Legal Group handles will contests, trust litigation, breach-of-fiduciary-duty claims, personal-representative disputes, surcharge actions, title disputes, and other contested probate matters.

Jennifer Harvey is also a trained mediator with experience in probate disputes. Mediation may allow relatives to work toward a private resolution while retaining more control over the outcome than they would have at trial.

When settlement is not possible, the firm also represents clients in probate litigation.

I Need Appointments That Fit My Schedule

Estate planning can be difficult to arrange during ordinary business hours, particularly for working couples, caregivers, and families trying to coordinate several participants.

Harvey Legal Group offers evening and weekend appointments without an additional fee. The firm also states that it can sometimes meet clients at another convenient location.

Fees are presented upfront, and the firm emphasizes explaining what each document means and why the client is signing it.

These practical arrangements may matter to families who have delayed planning because ordinary office schedules or unfamiliar legal documents made the process feel difficult to begin.

Serving Ann Arbor and Metro Detroit Families

Harvey Legal Group works with individuals, families, fiduciaries, and business owners throughout Southeast Michigan. Jennifer Harvey teaches other attorneys through Michigan’s Institute of Continuing Legal Education on estate planning, estate administration, trust administration, durable powers of attorney, and related probate subjects.

The firm maintains a mailing address in Ann Arbor and offers client meetings by appointment in Ann Arbor, Northville, and Allen Park.

Practice Areas

• Estate Planning

• Wills

• Living Trusts

• Revocable Trusts

• Irrevocable Trusts

• Trust Funding

• Planning for Minor Children

• Special Needs Trust Planning

• Healthcare Powers of Attorney

• Durable Financial Powers of Attorney

• Incapacity Planning

• Estate Administration

• Trust Administration

• Probate

• Will Contests

• Trust Litigation

• Breach of Fiduciary Duty

• Personal Representative Disputes

• Guardianships

• Conservatorships

• Probate Mediation

• Probate Litigation