Jeffrey R. Saunders, Trust and Estate Attorney & Certified Financial Planner

Trust & Estate Attorney and Certified Financial Planner in Livonia, Michigan

Jeffrey R. Saunders is a Livonia trust and estate attorney and Certified Financial Planner™ whose practice combines estate planning and estate administration with experience in retirement and financial planning. He founded Jeffrey R. Saunders, P.C. in 1991 to provide estate planning and elder law services and later established Saunders Financial, LLC, a separate registered investment advisory firm.

For families, the overlap between these areas can become important because an estate is rarely defined by a will alone. A family's wealth may include a home, IRAs and workplace retirement accounts, life insurance, annuities, investment accounts, and other property with its own ownership or beneficiary arrangements. Saunders' estate practice addresses how these pieces fit together while also helping families administer estates and trusts after a death.

When the Beneficiary Form Doesn't Match the Rest of the Estate Plan

Someone can spend considerable time preparing a will or trust but overlook an important question: who is actually named to receive the retirement accounts, annuities, and life insurance?

Saunders incorporates beneficiary-designation planning into his estate work. This allows retirement accounts, insurance policies, and other beneficiary-directed assets to be considered alongside wills and trusts rather than assuming the estate documents automatically control every asset.

This can become particularly important when an estate plan has been in place for many years. Family circumstances may change while an old beneficiary designation remains untouched. Coordinating these arrangements helps ensure that the different pieces of the estate plan work toward the same objectives.

When Retirement Accounts Represent Much of the Family's Wealth

For many people approaching or living in retirement, an IRA, 401(k), or similar account may represent one of their largest assets. These accounts can present different inheritance considerations from ordinary property because beneficiary designations and retirement-plan rules affect what happens after the owner's death.

Saunders' combined estate-planning and financial-planning background is particularly relevant in these circumstances. His legal practice includes beneficiary planning and IRA inheritance trusts, while his separate financial advisory practice addresses retirement and investment planning.

For a family, the issue may be more specific than simply deciding who inherits an IRA. A parent may be concerned about how an inherited account will be handled, whether a beneficiary is prepared to manage substantial assets, or how retirement accounts fit with property passing through a trust or other parts of the estate plan.

Considering these assets during the planning process can help avoid treating some of the family's largest financial holdings as an afterthought.

What Happens to the Family Home?

A house can present its own estate-planning questions. Parents may know which child or other beneficiary they eventually want to receive the property but still need to determine how ownership should transfer after death.

Saunders prepares real-estate deeds in connection with estate planning, including Michigan enhanced life estate deeds commonly known as Lady Bird deeds. These arrangements can provide a method for transferring real property outside probate while allowing the owner to retain important rights in the property during life.

The appropriate arrangement depends on the owner's circumstances and the rest of the estate plan. The important issue is making sure the deed to the home works with the client's overall intentions rather than leaving the property's eventual transfer unresolved.

When an Estate Plan Is 10 or 20 Years Old

Preparing an estate plan does not necessarily mean the planning process is finished forever. An older will or trust may have been created when the client's family, finances, property, and intended beneficiaries looked very different.

Saunders reviews and updates existing estate plans in addition to creating new ones. A review can determine whether the documents and related asset arrangements still correspond with the client's current circumstances and intentions.

This is particularly relevant because changes do not occur only in the documents themselves. Beneficiary designations, account ownership, real estate, retirement assets, and other property arrangements can change over time. An estate-plan review provides an opportunity to look at the larger picture rather than assuming documents prepared years earlier still accomplish what the client expects.

Who Can Handle Your Affairs If You Become Incapacitated?

Estate planning also addresses the possibility that someone may be alive but unable to manage financial or healthcare decisions independently.

Saunders prepares durable powers of attorney for property and healthcare powers of attorney. These documents allow clients to decide in advance who should have authority to act for them if circumstances arise in which assistance is needed.

For a spouse or adult child, this planning can become extremely important during a sudden illness or decline in capacity. Families may need someone who can deal with financial institutions, manage property, or participate in healthcare decisions at precisely the time when they are already dealing with the underlying medical crisis.

Establishing decision-making authority beforehand can provide clearer instructions about who the client trusts to assume those responsibilities.

When You Become Trustee After a Parent Dies

Being named successor trustee can sound straightforward when an estate plan is created. The responsibility becomes much more concrete when a parent or other family member dies and the successor actually has to administer the trust.

Saunders assists with non-probate trust administration and asset transfers after death. A trustee may need to identify and manage trust property, work through financial and tax-related matters, and ultimately distribute assets according to the trust's instructions.

The trustee may also be handling several different types of property while communicating with siblings or other beneficiaries who want to know what happens next. Having a trust can avoid probate for appropriately arranged assets, but it does not eliminate the administrative responsibilities that arise after the trust creator dies.

When a Will Has to Go Through Probate

Not every estate passes entirely through trusts, beneficiary designations, or other non-probate arrangements. When property remains subject to probate, someone may need to take responsibility for administering the estate through the Michigan probate process.

Saunders handles probate administration when a will must be probated. His estate-administration work can involve the practical responsibilities associated with settling the deceased person's affairs and transferring estate property.

This work is distinct from contested probate litigation. Saunders' documented practice centers on probate and trust administration rather than will contests or other probate disputes, so families facing an adversarial estate matter should determine whether separate litigation representation is needed.

When Estate Planning and Financial Planning Overlap

Saunders' professional background gives his practice an unusual perspective on families whose estate-planning concerns are closely connected to retirement and investment assets.

He became a Certified Financial Planner™ in 2004 and subsequently established Saunders Financial, LLC. The two practices have distinct roles: Jeffrey R. Saunders, P.C. provides legal services, while Saunders Financial, LLC provides investment advisory and financial services.

That distinction can still be useful when a family's estate questions cannot realistically be separated from its financial picture. Retirement accounts, investment assets, annuities, beneficiary designations, and the income needs of someone in retirement can all affect the decisions being made around an estate plan.

Rather than viewing the estate solely as a collection of legal documents, these circumstances may call for consideration of how the documents interact with the assets the family actually owns.

Serving Livonia & Southeast Michigan

Jeffrey R. Saunders, P.C. is located on Six Mile Road in Livonia, where Saunders provides estate planning, elder law, probate administration, and trust administration services.

His practice can assist families at several different stages—from individuals putting wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and beneficiary arrangements in place to trustees and personal representatives who must carry out those plans after a loved one dies.

Practice Areas

• Estate Planning

• Elder Law

• Wills

• Living Trusts

• Durable Powers of Attorney

• Healthcare Powers of Attorney

• Lady Bird Deeds

• IRA Inheritance Trusts

• Beneficiary Designation Planning

• Estate Plan Reviews and Updates

• Probate Administration

• Trust Administration

• Asset Transfers

• Designation of Funeral Representatives