Law Office of Mitchell J. Perrault

Estate Planning & Probate Attorney in Brighton, Michigan

Estate planning does not always require an elaborate collection of documents. For many families, the most pressing questions are practical ones: What happens to property after a death? Who can handle financial matters if someone becomes incapacitated? Who will make medical decisions? And what can beneficiaries do if they believe an estate is not being handled properly?

Attorney Mitchell J. Perrault assists Brighton-area clients with estate planning and probate matters alongside his primary family law practice. His estate-related services include wills and trusts, powers of attorney, probate administration and probate litigation.

The Law Office of Mitchell J. Perrault is located in Brighton and serves clients throughout Livingston County and surrounding areas.

Putting a Will or Trust in Place

An estate plan provides an opportunity to decide how property should be managed and ultimately distributed rather than leaving important decisions unresolved.

Perrault assists clients with the preparation of wills and trusts. His estate-planning practice considers not only what happens to assets after death but also how property may need to be managed during a person's lifetime.

The appropriate arrangement depends on the individual's circumstances. Families differ in the property they own, the people they want to provide for and the concerns they want their estate plans to address.

Planning in advance can also reduce uncertainty for surviving relatives. Clearly documenting decisions about property can make it easier for family members to understand what the deceased person intended and may reduce opportunities for disagreements later.

Planning for a Time When You Cannot Act for Yourself

An estate plan also needs to consider what happens if someone is alive but no longer able to handle important decisions.

A serious illness, accident or other incapacity may leave a person unable to manage financial affairs or communicate healthcare choices. Perrault prepares powers of attorney addressing financial and medical decision-making so that clients can designate people to act when necessary.

This planning can help avoid a situation in which family members discover during a crisis that no one has clear legal authority to manage a loved one's affairs.

Advance planning may also reduce the possibility that relatives will need to pursue a more time-consuming and expensive court proceeding simply to obtain authority to help someone who can no longer act independently.

When You've Been Asked to Administer an Estate

Being responsible for someone's estate can be unfamiliar territory, particularly for a person who has never dealt with probate before.

Perrault assists individuals responsible for administering estates through the Michigan probate process. The person placed in charge may need to determine what steps are required, address estate property and carry out responsibilities to beneficiaries while complying with the probate process.

Those obligations arrive at a difficult time. Someone may be grieving the death of a parent, spouse or other relative while simultaneously being expected to take responsibility for legal and financial matters they have never encountered before.

Legal guidance can help an estate administrator understand the role and the steps necessary to move the estate toward completion.

When a Beneficiary Thinks Something Is Wrong

Probate is not always simply an administrative process.

A beneficiary may become concerned that an estate is not being administered correctly. Questions can arise about how the person responsible for the estate is performing that role, how property is being handled or whether beneficiaries' interests are being appropriately protected.

Perrault specifically represents clients in probate litigation in addition to assisting with routine estate administration.

That gives his estate practice a role on both sides of the probate process. He can assist someone charged with administering an estate, but his practice also encompasses representation when a beneficiary believes problems with the administration require legal intervention.

Probate disputes can be particularly difficult because financial disagreements often occur among relatives shortly after a death. When concerns cannot be resolved informally, litigation may become necessary to determine the parties' rights and responsibilities.

Estate Planning Before Family Circumstances Become More Complicated

Perrault's broader practice is concentrated heavily in family law. 

Although estate planning is a separate area of his practice, changes within a family can create reasons to reconsider plans made previously.

An estate plan created under one set of personal circumstances may not necessarily continue to reflect someone's intentions indefinitely. Changes involving family relationships, property or responsibilities can make reviewing existing documents worthwhile.

Planning before a crisis also allows decisions about property, financial authority and healthcare to be made deliberately. Waiting until someone has lost capacity can eliminate options that were available when that person was still able to make those choices independently.

A Brighton Practice for Estate Planning and Probate Matters

Mitchell J. Perrault practices from his office in Brighton. While family law is the primary focus of his practice, he also provides specific estate-planning and probate services for individuals and families.

His estate work covers both planning ahead and addressing problems after they occur. That may mean preparing a will or trust, establishing financial and medical powers of attorney, helping someone administer an estate after a death, or representing a beneficiary who believes an estate is not being handled properly.

For clients whose needs fall within those areas, the firm provides a local Brighton option for estate planning, probate administration and contested probate matters.

Practice Areas

• Estate Planning

• Wills

• Trusts

• Financial Powers of Attorney

• Medical Powers of Attorney

• Probate Administration

• Probate Litigation