Law Office of Jerome M. Goldman

Estate Planning, Wills & Probate Attorney in Allen Park, Michigan

Estate planning often begins with relatively straightforward questions. Who should receive a home or other property after a death? Who should be responsible for carrying out those wishes? What documents should be in place before illness or incapacity makes it difficult for someone to handle financial or healthcare decisions personally?

The Law Office of Jerome M. Goldman assists individuals and families with these issues through wills, trusts, estate planning, financial and healthcare planning, and probate. The Allen Park solo practice also represents executors and administrators responsible for settling estates and provides guidance to heirs and beneficiaries navigating the probate process.

Attorney Jerome M. Goldman has practiced law for more than five decades. His estate work is part of a broader practice that also includes domestic relations and residential and commercial real estate matters.

Deciding Who Should Receive an Estate

For someone who has never prepared an estate plan, one of the first concerns may simply be making clear what should happen to property after death.

Goldman prepares customized wills and trusts designed around a client's wishes and intended distribution of an estate. This can allow a person to make decisions about property while he or she is still able to do so rather than leaving those matters unresolved for surviving family members.

An estate does not have to be unusually large or complicated for those decisions to matter. A home, financial accounts, personal belongings, and other assets can all raise questions about who should ultimately receive them.

Putting those intentions into an estate plan can provide a clearer framework for what is supposed to happen after death and reduce uncertainty about the person's wishes.

Choosing Between a Will, Trust, and Broader Estate Plan

People sometimes approach estate planning knowing that they need a will without necessarily knowing whether other documents should be considered as well.

The Law Office of Jerome M. Goldman provides wills, trusts, and estate planning services rather than limiting its work to preparation of a single type of document. The planning process can therefore begin with the client's objectives: identifying what the person owns, deciding who should ultimately receive the estate, and determining what documents are appropriate for putting those intentions into effect.

A trust may be part of that planning in some circumstances, while another client may have different needs. The important issue is that the documents reflect how the individual wants his or her estate handled rather than treating estate planning as simply filling out a standard will.

Goldman's practice emphasizes customized wills and trusts and clarity concerning distribution of the estate.

Planning Before Someone Else Has to Handle Important Decisions

Estate planning is not concerned exclusively with what happens after death. A serious illness, injury, or other loss of capacity can create immediate questions about who is authorized to handle another person's affairs.

Goldman's practice includes financial and healthcare planning in addition to wills and trusts. These issues become particularly important when a person can no longer make or communicate important decisions independently.

Planning in advance gives an individual an opportunity to address those responsibilities while still able to make the choices personally. Without advance planning, relatives may instead find themselves trying to determine what authority exists only after a medical or financial problem has already arisen.

Considering lifetime decision-making alongside the eventual distribution of an estate can therefore make estate planning more complete than simply deciding who receives property after death.

When a Family Member Dies and Probate Is Required

After a death, surviving family members may discover that settling the person's affairs involves more than locating a will and dividing property.

The Law Office of Jerome M. Goldman assists families with probate administration and the legal requirements involved in settling an estate. The firm's probate services include estate settlement and distribution as well as probate court filings and procedures.

For a family unfamiliar with probate, even understanding what needs to happen next can be difficult. There may be property to address, court requirements to satisfy, beneficiaries to consider, and an estate that cannot simply be distributed immediately.

Goldman's probate practice is intended to guide families through that process while the deceased person's estate is formally administered.

Taking Responsibility as an Executor or Administrator

Being named to handle an estate can place a family member in an unfamiliar legal role at an already difficult time.

Goldman represents executors and administrators in probate matters. That work includes helping the person responsible for the estate understand the probate process and the legal requirements associated with administration.

The responsibility is different from simply being an heir. An executor or administrator is involved in moving the estate through the required process before settlement and distribution can be completed.

Someone taking on that responsibility for the first time may not know what must be filed with the probate court, what steps must occur before property can be distributed, or how the administration progresses toward completion. The firm's probate work includes guidance through those procedures rather than leaving the estate representative to navigate them alone.

Helping Heirs and Beneficiaries Understand the Probate Process

The person administering an estate is not necessarily the only family member with questions.

Heirs and beneficiaries may want to understand what is happening with an estate, what the probate process involves, and how estate property ultimately reaches the people entitled to receive it. Goldman specifically provides guidance for heirs and beneficiaries as part of his probate practice.

This can be useful when family members know that they have an interest in an estate but are unfamiliar with the legal process occurring before distribution.

Probate can take time, and the existence of a will does not necessarily mean that property can immediately be handed over to the people named in it. Understanding the distinction between the deceased person's wishes and the legal process required to settle the estate can help family members better understand what occurs during administration.

Moving an Estate Toward Settlement and Distribution

Ultimately, probate administration must progress toward resolving the deceased person's affairs and distributing the estate.

Estate settlement and distribution are expressly included among Goldman's probate services. His practice assists with the procedures necessary to move an estate through probate and toward completion while complying with the applicable legal requirements.

For families, this is often the practical objective of the entire process: completing the necessary administration so that the estate can be settled and property can pass to the appropriate people.

The work can involve both the individual serving as executor or administrator and the heirs or beneficiaries waiting for administration to be completed. Goldman's representation encompasses both the probate procedures themselves and guidance to the people involved in the estate.

When Estate Matters Include Real Property

A house or other real estate can be one of the most significant assets a person owns and can also become an important consideration when someone is thinking about the eventual distribution of an estate.

Real estate is a separate component of Goldman's broader legal practice. He handles residential and commercial real estate matters, including contracts, transactions, closings, and disputes.

That experience gives the practice an additional area of legal work involving property, although the firm's website does not claim that every real estate service is part of its estate-planning or probate representation.

For clients whose legal needs extend beyond wills, trusts, or probate, the Allen Park office therefore maintains a broader practice that includes real estate as well as domestic relations matters.

A Solo Practice Built Over Decades

Jerome M. Goldman has been practicing law since 1972, giving him more than five decades of experience.

The Law Office of Jerome M. Goldman operates as a solo legal practice. The firm describes its service as personal and one-on-one and notes that it has worked with families across generations.

Unlike a firm devoted exclusively to trusts and estates, Goldman's office handles several areas of law. Wills, trusts, estate planning, probate, financial and healthcare planning, real estate, and domestic relations are all identified within the practice.

For estate clients, that means the firm's planning and probate services are provided within a longstanding general legal practice rather than a narrowly specialized estate-planning boutique.

Communities Served

The Law Office of Jerome M. Goldman is located at 5646 Allen Road in Allen Park, Michigan. The firm serves Michigan clients from its Allen Park office.

Practice Areas

• Wills

• Trusts

• Estate Planning

• Probate

• Probate Administration

• Estate Settlement and Distribution

• Representation of Executors and Administrators

• Guidance for Heirs and Beneficiaries

• Probate Court Filings and Procedures

• Financial and Healthcare Planning

• Residential Real Estate

• Commercial Real Estate

• Domestic Relations