Jennifer Sadecki Parison, Attorney and Counselor at Law

Estate Planning, Probate, and Elder Law in Clinton Township

Jennifer Sadecki Parison focuses her practice on the legal issues families encounter while planning for the future, caring for vulnerable relatives, and managing a loved one’s affairs after death. Her work includes estate planning, probate and trust administration, guardianships, conservatorships, elder law, contested estates, and small-business planning.

These needs often arise during significant changes in a family’s life. A marriage, divorce, birth of a child, death in the family, new business, serious illness, or responsibility for an aging parent can all expose gaps in an existing plan. Parison helps clients evaluate those circumstances and choose documents and arrangements suited to their family, property, and decision-making needs.

Parison established her firm in 2004 and relocated the practice from Lansing to Macomb County in 2006. She previously served as a guardian ad litem in Macomb County Probate Court and has worked with families facing questions involving minors, incapacitated adults, estate administration, and disputed probate matters.

Building an Estate Plan Around the Family

Estate planning involves more than deciding who should receive property. It also requires families to consider who should manage their affairs, care for minor children, make medical decisions, and handle responsibilities when illness or incapacity prevents someone from acting independently.

A will can name beneficiaries, nominate a personal representative to manage the probate estate, and identify a preferred guardian for minor children. Without a will, Michigan law generally controls who inherits probate property. That legal order may not reflect the relationships, priorities, or practical needs of the family.

Trusts can offer additional control over how property is managed and distributed. A trust may be appropriate when parents want assets held for children until they are older, when a beneficiary needs help managing money, or when an inheritance should be protected and distributed over time. Trusts can also provide continued asset management during incapacity and may allow properly transferred property to pass without probate.

Parison’s practice includes planning for blended families, where the interests of a spouse, children from an earlier relationship, and jointly owned property must be coordinated carefully. A general plan that leaves everything to a spouse may not address what should eventually pass to children from a prior relationship. Similarly, beneficiary designations, ownership arrangements, and estate-planning documents need to work together if the family’s intended result is to be carried out.

Choosing People to Act During Incapacity

A complete estate plan addresses what happens while a person is still alive but unable to manage personal, financial, or medical decisions. Durable powers of attorney allow people to choose trusted individuals before an emergency occurs.

A financial power of attorney can authorize an agent to manage financial and legal matters. Depending on the authority granted, that person may be able to pay bills, communicate with banks, manage property, sign documents, or handle other necessary transactions. Without a valid power of attorney, relatives may discover that they cannot access accounts or manage assets simply because they are close family members.

A healthcare power of attorney allows someone to appoint a patient advocate to make medical decisions if the person becomes unable to make or communicate those decisions. The document can address treatment preferences, end-of-life care, mental-health treatment, and access to medical information.

These decisions can feel remote when everyone is healthy. They become urgent when someone experiences a serious accident, sudden illness, stroke, dementia diagnosis, or rapid decline. Advance planning gives the family a clearer understanding of who has authority and what the person wanted, reducing the likelihood that relatives must seek court intervention during a medical crisis.

The firm also offers emergency estate planning for situations in which time is limited. Urgent planning may be needed after a serious diagnosis, unexpected hospitalization, or accident. The available options will depend on the person’s condition and legal capacity, but prompt action may allow important financial and healthcare instructions to be documented while the person can still make those decisions.

Guardianships and Conservatorships for Vulnerable People

When advance planning is unavailable or no longer resolves the situation, a family may need to petition the probate court for a guardianship or conservatorship.

A guardian is appointed to make personal and care-related decisions for a minor or an adult who cannot care for themselves. A conservator manages property and financial affairs for someone unable to manage those responsibilities independently. Some individuals may need one form of protection, while others may need both.

These cases can arise when an aging parent develops dementia, an adult experiences a disabling medical event, a person with developmental disabilities needs continuing assistance, or a minor receives property that must be managed by an adult. Families may also seek court protection when they are concerned that a vulnerable person is being neglected, manipulated, or financially exploited.

Parison’s previous work as a guardian ad litem in Macomb County Probate Court provides relevant experience with cases involving the needs and interests of people who may be unable to advocate fully for themselves. Her practice includes guardianships and conservatorships for both minors and incapacitated adults.

Administering an Estate or Trust After a Death

Being named as a personal representative or successor trustee can leave someone responsible for unfamiliar legal and financial tasks while also grieving a death. Estate administration may involve identifying and protecting assets, reviewing claims and expenses, communicating with beneficiaries, completing probate filings, and distributing property according to the will or Michigan law.

A personal representative has legal duties to the estate and its interested parties. Mistakes can delay distributions, create conflict among beneficiaries, or expose the representative to objections and possible removal. Guidance can help the representative understand which tasks require court approval, what records should be maintained, and when distributions can be made.

Trust administration can require a successor trustee to take control of accounts and other property, interpret the trust’s instructions, pay appropriate expenses, maintain records, and distribute or continue managing assets for beneficiaries. The work may be particularly complicated when the trust owns real estate, investments, business interests, or assets intended to remain in trust for several years.

Parison’s practice includes both probate administration and trust administration. This allows the firm to assist families whether assets pass through the probate court, under a trust, or through a combination of different transfer arrangements.

Addressing Will Contests and Estate Disputes

Not every estate proceeds with family members in agreement. Questions may arise about whether a will reflects the decedent’s true wishes, whether someone exerted undue influence, or whether fraud, duress, or lack of capacity affected the signing of a document.

Disputes can also involve disagreements among heirs, the interpretation or distribution of estate assets, or allegations that a personal representative or trustee has not fulfilled required duties. In blended families or families with longstanding disagreements, uncertainty about property can intensify existing tensions.

Parison represents clients in will contests and estate disputes. Legal involvement can help define the actual issues, examine the relevant documents and conduct, and keep disagreements focused on the applicable legal responsibilities. Depending on the circumstances, a matter may require negotiation, probate-court proceedings, or litigation.

Reviewing a Plan After Life Changes

An estate plan should continue to reflect the person’s current family, assets, and intentions. Documents created years earlier may no longer be appropriate after marriage, divorce, the birth or adoption of a child, a death in the family, a move, a change in financial circumstances, or a breakdown in a relationship with a chosen decision-maker.

A review may reveal that a former spouse or deceased relative is still named in an important role, that a child has reached adulthood, or that property acquired after the original plan was never coordinated with a trust. Changes in the law can also affect whether older documents continue to work as intended.

The firm reviews existing wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and related documents. Updating a plan can be just as important as creating one, especially when the family’s circumstances have changed substantially since the documents were signed.

Serving Families Across Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne Counties

Jennifer Sadecki Parison’s office is located in Clinton Township. The practice primarily serves families in Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne counties and also reports assisting clients elsewhere in Michigan.

This regional focus is relevant to the firm’s probate work because estate administration, guardianships, conservatorships, and contested matters may require interaction with the probate court in the county handling the case. The firm maintains resource information for probate courts and registers of deeds in several southeastern Michigan counties.

Practice Areas

• Estate planning

• Wills

• Trusts

• Financial powers of attorney

• Healthcare powers of attorney

• Emergency estate planning

• Estate-plan reviews

• Probate administration

• Trust administration

• Guardianships

• Conservatorships

• Elder law

• Will and trust contests

• Estate disputes

• Small-business planning