Jabbour Law

Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Attorney in Livonia, Michigan

Jabbour Law is a Livonia firm focused on estate planning and business law, with additional services involving probate and trust administration, real estate, startups, and accounting and tax matters. Founder Anthony Jabbour works with individuals, families, entrepreneurs, and business owners on planning that can address the transfer of property, incapacity, protection of beneficiaries, and the relationship between personal estates and business interests.

Jabbour's background includes accounting as well as law, an overlap that can be particularly relevant when estate decisions involve business ownership, taxes, or more complicated financial assets. The firm also has a separate accounting and tax practice led by Peter Jabbour, M.S.T., an accounting and tax professional with more than 30 years of experience.

Deciding Who Would Care for Your Children

Estate planning is not limited to families with substantial wealth. For parents of minor children, one of the most important decisions is who should care for the children if both parents die.

A will allows parents to nominate a guardian rather than leaving that preference unstated. A broader estate plan can also establish how property intended for children should be managed and distributed, particularly when the children would be too young to handle an inheritance themselves.

Putting these decisions in place gives parents an opportunity to address both sides of the concern: who they trust to care for their children and how the assets they leave behind should be handled for the children's benefit.

Who Can Handle Your Money or Healthcare If You Can't?

An estate plan also needs to account for circumstances that occur during life. An accident, serious illness, or other incapacity can leave family members needing to pay bills, manage property, deal with financial institutions, or make medical decisions for someone who cannot act independently.

Jabbour Law prepares financial and medical powers of attorney that allow clients to designate trusted people to handle specified responsibilities. Establishing that authority in advance can give families a clearer path forward if incapacity occurs.

Without adequate advance planning, relatives may face additional legal complications when they discover they do not automatically have authority to manage another adult's financial or healthcare affairs simply because they are a spouse, child, or other close family member.

Signing a Trust Isn't Necessarily the Last Step

Creating a trust and making sure assets are properly connected to it are separate parts of estate planning. A carefully drafted trust may not accomplish all of its intended purposes if ownership and beneficiary arrangements are never coordinated with the plan.

Jabbour Law incorporates trust funding into its estate-planning process. This can involve determining which assets should be placed into a trust and taking the necessary steps to align ownership with the client's planning arrangements.

The firm prepares both revocable and irrevocable trusts. Depending on the client's circumstances, trust planning can be used to manage property, establish how beneficiaries receive assets, reduce reliance on probate, and address other financial or family objectives.

Following through on trust funding is therefore an important practical part of the process rather than treating the signing of the documents as the automatic completion of the estate plan.

Providing for a Beneficiary Who Needs Additional Protection

An outright inheritance is not necessarily appropriate for every beneficiary. A child or adult with special needs, for example, may require an estate plan designed around continuing financial management and existing sources of assistance.

Jabbour Law handles special-needs trust planning for families who want to provide resources for a beneficiary with a disability while considering the beneficiary's eligibility for government benefits.

Trusts can also provide greater control over how property is managed and distributed for other beneficiaries who may not be well served by receiving an inheritance outright. The appropriate structure depends on the beneficiary's circumstances and the family's objectives.

When Lawsuits or Creditor Concerns Affect Planning

Some individuals and business owners have concerns not only about transferring assets after death but also about potential exposure to lawsuits and creditors during life.

Asset-protection planning is part of Jabbour Law's estate practice, and Anthony Jabbour's work includes the preparation of asset-protection trusts. The firm also handles irrevocable trust planning when a client's objectives require an arrangement different from a conventional revocable living trust.

Asset protection requires more than simply moving property into a trust, and not every asset or circumstance calls for the same strategy. For clients with legitimate creditor or liability concerns, those risks can be evaluated as one part of the broader estate and financial picture.

When Your Business Is One of Your Most Important Assets

For an entrepreneur, a business may represent a substantial portion of both personal wealth and family income. Estate planning therefore may need to address what happens to ownership and control of the company if the owner retires, becomes incapacitated, or dies.

Business succession planning is part of Jabbour Law's practice. Anthony Jabbour also handles entity formation, contracts, corporate governance, and other business transactions, allowing succession concerns to be considered alongside the legal structure and ownership of the company itself.

This overlap can be particularly important for closely held businesses. Decisions made in a personal estate plan need to make sense when considered together with existing business arrangements rather than treating the owner's interest in the company like an ordinary personal asset.

Considering Legal, Business & Tax Issues Together

Estate-planning decisions can involve more than estate law when a client's circumstances include business ownership, significant financial assets, real estate, or potential tax considerations.

Anthony Jabbour's professional background began in accounting before he entered legal practice, and his current work combines estate planning with business law. Jabbour Law also provides separate accounting and tax services through Peter Jabbour, M.S.T., who is an accounting and tax professional rather than an attorney.

That distinction allows legal and financial considerations to be addressed within their respective professional roles. For clients whose estate plans overlap with business or tax concerns, those issues can be considered as part of a larger planning picture rather than in isolation.

When a Loved One's Estate or Trust Must Be Administered

Planning eventually gives way to administration. After a death, family members may need to identify and value property, address outstanding obligations, determine how assets should be allocated, and complete the legal and tax-related work necessary before property can be transferred.

Jabbour Law assists with probate and trust administration in addition to preparing estate plans. This allows the firm to work with families when wills and trusts reach the point at which their provisions must actually be carried out.

For personal representatives and trustees, the responsibilities can be unfamiliar and may arrive at a difficult time. Administration involves more than locating the estate documents; the person responsible must work through the practical, legal, and financial steps required to settle the estate or trust.

Serving Livonia & Metro Detroit

Jabbour Law is located on Middlebelt Road in Livonia and provides estate-planning and related legal services to individuals, families, entrepreneurs, and business owners in Livonia and throughout the Metro Detroit area.

The firm's combination of estate planning, business law, probate and trust administration, real estate, and accounting and tax services is particularly relevant when a family's planning involves assets or circumstances that cross more than one of those areas.

Practice Areas

• Estate Planning

• Wills

• Revocable Trusts

• Irrevocable Trusts

• Trust Funding

• Special Needs Trusts

• Powers of Attorney

• Asset Protection Planning

• Probate Administration

• Trust Administration

• Business Succession Planning

• Business Law

• Startup and Entity Formation

• Real Estate Law