Heritier, Nance and Smothers

Estate Planning & Probate Attorneys in Troy, Michigan

Heritier Nance & Smothers is a Troy law firm whose practice centers on estate planning, probate, trust administration, business law, and real estate. Rather than approaching these matters separately, the firm's attorneys work to ensure that estate plans reflect how clients actually own property, operate businesses, and intend to transfer assets to future generations.

For many families, an effective estate plan involves more than preparing a will. It requires coordinating trusts, beneficiary designations, deeds, tax planning, and lifetime financial decisions so they work together when they are eventually needed. Heritier Nance & Smothers also works closely with clients' accountants and financial advisors to develop plans that fit within their broader financial picture.

When an Estate Plan Hasn't Been Updated in Years

An estate plan that once reflected a family's wishes may no longer accomplish its intended goals after marriages, divorces, births, deaths, retirement, or significant changes in assets.

Heritier Nance & Smothers helps clients review and update existing estate plans to account for changing family circumstances and evolving financial situations. The firm's planning may include wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, durable financial powers of attorney, patient advocate designations, deeds, and beneficiary designation reviews so that individual documents function together as part of a coordinated plan.

Making Sure Assets Pass the Way You Intended

Many valuable assets pass outside of a will. Retirement accounts, life insurance policies, jointly owned property, and payable-on-death accounts are often distributed according to beneficiary designations or ownership arrangements rather than the terms of an estate plan.

The firm places particular emphasis on coordinating these non-probate assets with clients' overall estate plans. By reviewing deeds, beneficiary designations, and trust provisions together, the attorneys help reduce the risk that conflicting documents could produce unintended results.

Planning for Families With Significant Assets

Some estate plans require additional consideration because of the size or complexity of the estate. Tax consequences, charitable goals, family businesses, investment property, and multigenerational wealth transfers may all influence the planning process.

Heritier Nance & Smothers advises clients on sophisticated planning techniques that may include charitable trusts, life insurance trusts, IRA trusts, Qualified Personal Residence Trusts (QPRTs), Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs), and planning related to estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes. The firm also prepares estate and gift tax returns when appropriate as part of its estate planning practice.

Helping a Successor Trustee Carry Out Their Responsibilities

Serving as a trustee can involve legal and financial responsibilities that many individuals have never handled before. Managing trust assets, communicating with beneficiaries, maintaining records, and making distributions all require careful attention to the terms of the trust.

The attorneys assist successor trustees with trust administration, providing guidance throughout the administration process so fiduciaries understand their responsibilities and the legal requirements associated with carrying out a trust.

Guiding Families Through Probate Administration

Following the death of a loved one, personal representatives are often responsible for navigating unfamiliar court procedures while managing numerous administrative tasks.

Heritier Nance & Smothers assists with probate administration from the initial court filings through the final distribution of estate assets. The firm helps personal representatives prepare required petitions, inventories, creditor notices, accountings, tax filings, and other documents while providing guidance through each stage of the probate process.

When Business and Estate Planning Need to Work Together

Business ownership often creates estate planning issues that extend beyond transferring personal assets. Ownership interests, succession planning, and real estate holdings may all affect how an estate should be structured.Because the firm's practice also includes business law and real estate, Heritier Nance & Smothers helps clients develop estate plans that coordinate with business ownership and significant real property interests. This integrated approach allows legal decisions in one area to complement planning in another.

Serving Clients Throughout Metropolitan Detroit and Michigan

Located in Troy, Heritier Nance & Smothers represents clients throughout metropolitan Detroit and across Michigan. The firm combines estate planning, probate, trust administration, business law, and real estate experience to help individuals and families prepare for the future while providing practical guidance when estates and trusts must be administered.

Practice Areas

• Estate Planning

• Wills

• Revocable Trusts

• Irrevocable Trusts

• Trust Administration

• Probate Administration

• Financial Powers of Attorney

• Patient Advocate Designations

• Charitable Trusts

• IRA Trusts

• Life Insurance Trusts

• Qualified Personal Residence Trusts (QPRTs)

• Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs)

• Estate Tax Planning

• Gift Tax Planning

• Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Planning

• Estate and Gift Tax Returns

• Business Succession Planning

• Deed Preparation

• Beneficiary Designation Planning