Law Offices of Bruce A. Mayrand

Estate Planning & Probate Attorney in Brighton, Michigan

Estate planning often begins with straightforward family questions. Who should receive your property? Who could manage your finances if you became unable to do so? Who would make medical decisions for you? If you have young children, who would care for them if neither parent could?

The Law Offices of Bruce A. Mayrand, PLC assists clients with planning for these possibilities and with the legal responsibilities that arise after a death. From its Brighton office, the firm handles wills, trusts, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, guardianship matters, probate and estate administration, and estate-tax planning.

Deciding What Should Happen to Your Property

A will gives an individual an opportunity to establish how property should be distributed after death rather than leaving those decisions entirely to Michigan's default inheritance laws.

For some families, a will may provide the foundation they need. Others may have circumstances that make a trust worth considering. Mayrand assists clients with both wills and trusts and advises them on how different estate-planning arrangements can be used to accomplish their objectives.

Trusts can provide additional control over the management and eventual distribution of assets. That can matter when someone does not want property distributed to a beneficiary immediately or wants to establish more detailed instructions for how assets should be handled.

The appropriate approach depends on the family, the property involved and what the person creating the plan wants to accomplish. Estate planning does not necessarily require making the plan more complicated than the circumstances warrant.

Who Would Care for Your Children?

For parents of minor children, deciding who receives property may not be the most difficult estate-planning question.

Parents also need to consider who should care for their children if they are no longer able to do so themselves. Mayrand's estate-planning practice includes guardianship planning for minor children, allowing parents to address that possibility before a crisis occurs.

Without advance planning, surviving relatives may be left to deal with important questions at an already traumatic time. Making wishes known beforehand provides family members and the court with considerably more guidance than leaving the issue completely unresolved.

The firm's guardianship work also extends to adults who require assistance. Adult guardianship can become relevant when a person's circumstances leave them unable to make necessary personal decisions independently.

If You Become Unable to Handle Your Own Affairs

Death is only one event an estate plan should address. Incapacity can create equally serious problems.

An accident or illness can leave someone temporarily or permanently unable to manage financial matters. A family member may be willing to help but discover that willingness alone does not give that person legal authority to access accounts or make decisions on someone else's behalf.

Mayrand prepares powers of attorney that allow clients to designate individuals to handle financial matters when necessary.

The firm also assists with healthcare planning. Healthcare directives can document a person's treatment preferences and identify someone authorized to make healthcare decisions. The firm's planning in this area can address matters such as medical treatment, end-of-life care, healthcare proxies and organ donation.

These documents can be particularly important during a medical emergency, when relatives may otherwise be trying to determine both what their loved one wanted and who has authority to make a decision.

When a Family Has to Deal With Probate

After someone dies, surviving relatives may have more to do than locate a will and distribute belongings.

The Law Offices of Bruce A. Mayrand handles probate and estate administration, including the process of transitioning assets through probate. This can be important for a personal representative who suddenly finds themselves responsible for handling another person's estate.

Even a family without significant conflict may be unfamiliar with what needs to happen next. Property may need to be identified and properly transferred, probate requirements addressed and the estate ultimately distributed to the appropriate beneficiaries.

For the person responsible for the estate, these duties arrive while the family is also dealing with the death itself. Legal assistance can provide direction through a process that many people encounter only once or twice in their lives.

Choosing Between a Will and a Trust

Families sometimes encounter estate planning with the assumption that everyone needs a trust—or, conversely, that a will is always sufficient.

Mayrand's practice includes both planning tools. The decision can instead be based on what a particular client owns, whom the client wants to provide for and how much control the client wants over the future management and distribution of property.

A trust may be useful when greater control over assets is important. A will can address the distribution of property at death and other important family decisions. These documents can also be part of a broader plan that includes powers of attorney and healthcare instructions.

Looking at those issues together helps address both sides of estate planning: what should happen if a person becomes incapacitated during life and what should happen to that person's property after death.

Estate-Tax Planning for Families Who Need It

Not every estate presents significant tax-planning concerns. For families with sufficient assets for estate taxes to become an issue, however, the consequences can warrant additional planning.

Mayrand provides estate-tax planning and discusses strategies involving trusts and gifting as part of that work.

This is an area where the family's actual financial circumstances matter. Rather than treating tax planning as a necessary component of every estate plan, it can be addressed when the size and structure of an estate make it relevant.

Estate Planning From a Brighton Law Office

The Law Offices of Bruce A. Mayrand maintains an office on East Grand River Avenue in Brighton, giving Livingston County families a local option for estate planning, probate and related matters. 

The firm also maintains an office in Walled Lake.

Its estate practice covers both planning ahead and dealing with events that have already occurred. A client may be creating a first will, considering whether a trust is appropriate, choosing people to handle financial and healthcare decisions, planning for the care of children, or preparing for possible estate-tax issues.

For families coming to the firm after a death, the focus may instead be on probate and the practical work necessary to administer the deceased person's estate.

Practice Areas

• Estate Planning

• Wills

• Trusts

• Powers of Attorney

• Healthcare Directives

• Guardianship

• Probate

• Estate Administration

• Estate-Tax Planning