Hughes & Wald Law

Estate Planning and Elder Law Attorneys in Brighton, Michigan

Hughes & Wald Law helps individuals and families prepare for death, incapacity, long-term care, and the responsibilities that arise after a loved one dies. The Brighton firm’s work includes estate planning, elder law, Medicaid and long-term-care planning, special-needs planning, estate and trust administration and litigation, guardianships, conservatorships, veterans benefits, and business succession planning.

Attorneys Jim Wald and John Hughes use wills, trusts, financial powers of attorney, and patient advocate designations to address both lifetime needs and the eventual transfer of property. Their practice extends beyond preparing documents. The firm assists families when a parent or spouse needs nursing care, when an incapacitated person no longer has authority to manage personal affairs, and when someone must administer an estate or trust after a death.

Hughes & Wald Law also advises closely held businesses and handles real-estate matters. Those services can intersect with estate planning when a family’s property includes a company, rental property, commercial real estate, or land that requires continued management.

Your Child Turns 18 and You Can No Longer Automatically Step In

A child’s eighteenth birthday changes a parent’s legal authority. Even if the child still lives at home, attends high school, or depends on the parents financially, the parents may no longer automatically manage the young adult’s financial affairs or make healthcare decisions.

This can become a problem when a student leaves for college, studies abroad, becomes seriously ill, or is injured in an accident. A parent may need to speak with a landlord, deal with a financial account, execute paperwork, or communicate with medical providers but lack the authority to act.

Hughes & Wald Law prepares general durable powers of attorney for financial matters and patient advocate designations for healthcare decisions. These documents allow a young adult to choose someone who can step in under the circumstances described in the documents.

Without appropriate advance planning, a parent may need to ask the probate court for guardianship or conservatorship authority. That process involves court oversight and additional responsibilities that a properly prepared power of attorney may help a family avoid.

A Second Marriage Could Change What Your Children Inherit

Remarriage can create competing responsibilities. Someone may want to provide for a new spouse while also preserving property for children from an earlier marriage or relationship. Michigan’s default inheritance rules may not produce the division the family informally discussed or expected.

Property ownership adds another layer. A home, jointly held account, retirement benefit, or other asset may transfer differently depending on how it is titled and whether it has a beneficiary designation. Simply telling family members what should happen does not determine the legal result.

Hughes & Wald Law helps clients use wills and revocable living trusts to document how property should be distributed. A trust can also provide continued management rather than requiring an immediate outright distribution.

For a blended family, the plan may need to address what a surviving spouse can use during life, what should eventually pass to the deceased spouse’s children, and who will be responsible for managing the arrangement. Working through those questions in advance can reduce uncertainty between a surviving spouse, children, and stepchildren after a death.

A Child or Other Beneficiary Should Not Receive Everything at Once

An outright inheritance is not appropriate for every beneficiary. Minor children cannot independently manage inherited property, and some adults may need continued assistance because of a disability or other circumstances.

Hughes & Wald Law uses revocable living trusts to provide instructions for the ongoing management and distribution of assets for minor children, beneficiaries with special needs, and others who would benefit from a structured plan.

Parents can decide who will manage the property and establish directions for its use. This may be important when money will be needed over time for housing, education, healthcare, or other support. It also allows the parents to look beyond the simple question of who inherits and consider how the inheritance will function in the beneficiary’s life.

Jim Wald’s practice specifically includes special-needs planning. Families supporting a person with disabilities may need to coordinate estate documents with government benefits and decisions about future financial and personal care. The appropriate arrangement depends on the beneficiary’s circumstances and the type of assistance involved.

Mom or Dad Needs Nursing Care and the Family Does Not Know What Comes Next

Long-term care can create immediate legal and financial questions. A parent may be hospitalized and unable to return home safely. A spouse may need nursing-facility care while the other spouse remains in the community and continues relying on the couple’s income and property.

Hughes & Wald Law handles elder-law matters involving long-term-care and Medicaid planning. The firm helps families examine the individual’s income and assets, determine who has authority to act, complete necessary tasks involving the property, prepare a Medicaid application, and work with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services during its review.

Medicaid eligibility depends on financial and nonfinancial requirements. Because different forms of assistance have different rules, a family needs to understand which program is involved and how the applicant’s particular circumstances affect eligibility.

Authority can become a threshold problem. If the person needing care previously signed appropriate estate-planning documents, an authorized agent may be able to take necessary actions. If those documents are absent and the person no longer has capacity, the family may need to pursue guardianship or conservatorship through probate court.

An Incapacitated Relative Never Signed Powers of Attorney

A person who loses the ability to manage personal affairs may still need someone to consent to medical care, arrange living services, pay expenses, safeguard property, and communicate with institutions. Relatives do not always have automatic authority to perform those tasks.

Hughes & Wald Law represents families in guardianship and conservatorship proceedings. A guardian is appointed to make personal and healthcare decisions for an incapacitated individual. A conservator is appointed to manage financial affairs.

These proceedings can also be necessary for a minor who does not have a parent or other legal guardian available to act. The probate court determines whether an appointment is warranted and establishes the authority and responsibilities of the person selected.

Guardianship and conservatorship are related but separate roles. A family may need one or both, depending on whether the concern involves healthcare and personal welfare, finances, or both.

A Loved One Has Died and Someone Must Carry Out the Plan

Even a carefully prepared estate plan leaves work to be completed after death. Someone must determine what property the deceased person owned, safeguard it, address debts and taxes, communicate with beneficiaries, and ultimately distribute the assets.

Hughes & Wald Law assists with both estate and trust administration. Estate administration generally takes place through probate court under the authority of a personal representative. Trust administration is handled by the trustee and ordinarily occurs privately, although it still involves legal and fiduciary responsibilities.

Administration may include giving notices to heirs and other interested parties, publishing notice to creditors, evaluating and paying legitimate debts, preparing tax returns, locating property, maintaining records, and distributing assets.

Trust administration can also begin during the trust creator’s incapacity. A successor trustee may need to take control of trust property and manage it for the creator’s benefit before any distribution to the eventual beneficiaries occurs.

The firm also handles estate and trust litigation. Disputes may develop over the meaning of a document, the conduct of a fiduciary, the management of property, or whether assets are being distributed properly. Hughes & Wald Law’s involvement in both planning and administration allows it to work across different stages of the estate-planning process.

A Business Owner Dies, Becomes Disabled, or Is Ready to Retire

A closely held business may depend heavily on one owner’s knowledge, authority, and relationships. If that person dies or becomes disabled without a succession plan, relatives and co-owners may be left uncertain about who can manage the company or what should happen to the ownership interest.

Hughes & Wald Law advises businesses concerning formation, operation, and succession. The firm works with limited liability companies, corporations, and general partnerships and prepares organizational documents and other arrangements affecting the business.

A succession plan can establish what should happen after an owner’s death, disability, or retirement. The plan may need to identify a future owner, address management authority, and coordinate the business arrangements with the owner’s personal estate plan.

This can be particularly important in a family business when one child participates in the company and others do not. The owner may need to decide whether the participating child should receive control, how the ownership interest will be valued, and how the rest of the estate will be divided. Addressing the business and personal planning together can help prevent conflicting instructions.

Estate Planning and Elder Law from Brighton

Hughes & Wald Law is located at 852 West Grand River Avenue in downtown Brighton.

Jim Wald formed his practice in 2008. He has devoted his practice primarily to estate planning, special-needs planning, elder law, estate and trust administration and litigation, guardianships, conservatorships, and veterans benefits. He also practices business and real-estate law and is accredited by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.

John Hughes grew up in Brighton and is licensed in Michigan and California. He is a member of the Probate and Estate Planning Section of the State Bar of Michigan and serves as a guardian ad litem in Livingston and Oakland County probate matters.

The firm concentrates its practice in Livingston County and also represents clients in Oakland, Wayne, Washtenaw, and Macomb counties. Its website states that Jim Wald is available to meet clients in their homes or at other convenient locations.

Practice Areas

• Estate Planning

• Wills and Revocable Living Trusts

• Financial and Healthcare Powers of Attorney

• Special-Needs Planning

• Elder Law and Long-Term-Care Planning

• Medicaid Planning

• Veterans Benefits

• Estate and Trust Administration

• Estate and Trust Litigation

• Guardianships and Conservatorships

• Business Formation and Succession Planning

• Real Estate