Law Offices of Conlin, McKenney & Philbrick

Estate Planning, Probate & Wealth-Transfer Attorneys in Ann Arbor, Michigan

A basic estate plan may begin with a will, but many families eventually discover that their situation involves much more. They may own a business, hold significant real estate, want to reduce estate taxes, support a charitable organization, protect a vulnerable family member, or leave assets to children whose financial needs are very different.

Conlin, McKenney & Philbrick, P.C. has an established Estate Planning and Administration group in Ann Arbor that works with estates ranging from relatively straightforward to highly complex. The firm’s attorneys assist with estate planning, probate, trust administration, tax matters, business succession, charitable planning, and disputes involving estates and trusts.

Because the firm also has business, real-estate, tax, and litigation experience, it may be particularly useful for Michigan families whose estate-planning needs cross several legal and financial areas.

I Need a Will or Trust

Many people know they should have an estate plan but are unsure what documents they actually need.

A will can state who should receive property passing through an estate, name a personal representative, and nominate guardians for minor children. A trust may provide additional control over how and when assets are distributed, help manage property for younger or vulnerable beneficiaries, or address more complicated family and financial circumstances.

The estate-planning attorneys at Conlin, McKenney & Philbrick help clients evaluate these options and prepare plans suited to estates of many different sizes. The firm also prepares durable powers of attorney and living wills, allowing clients to name trusted people to handle financial or healthcare decisions if illness or incapacity prevents them from acting independently.

My Family’s Situation Is Complicated

Estate planning can become difficult when parents want to treat children fairly but equally dividing everything may not produce a fair result.

One child may be financially secure while another needs long-term assistance. A beneficiary may struggle with disability, money management, or other personal concerns. Family wealth may include a business, investment property, or assets that cannot easily be divided.

The firm’s attorneys help clients consider these family dynamics before deciding how property should pass. Their work includes disability planning, guardianship planning, trusts, and strategies for protecting vulnerable family members.

The goal is not simply to prepare documents. It is to leave loved ones a workable plan that gives them clear direction when the client is no longer available to explain what was intended.

I Own a Business

For a closely held or family business, an estate plan and a succession plan often need to work together.

The death, incapacity, or retirement of an owner can affect family members, co-owners, employees, customers, and the long-term value of the company. Questions may arise about who will manage the business, who will inherit ownership, whether other owners will purchase the departing owner’s interest, and how family members who do not work in the business should be treated.

Conlin, McKenney & Philbrick advises business owners on estate planning and business succession. Its broader business-law practice can also address ownership structures, corporate governance, agreements, and other issues that may affect a transition.

This combination may be especially useful when a family’s largest asset is a business rather than a conventional investment account.

We Have Significant Assets or Tax Concerns

Families with substantial wealth may need to think beyond a standard will or revocable trust.

The firm advises high-net-worth individuals, multigenerational families, and closely held business owners on wealth-transfer strategies, estate and income-tax matters, lifetime gifting, asset protection, and charitable planning. Attorneys within the group have advanced backgrounds in taxation, finance, and business and regularly coordinate planning with clients’ accountants, financial advisers, and other professionals.

The team also prepares federal and state estate, inheritance, generation-skipping, and fiduciary income-tax returns. Representation involving tax audits and controversies is available when an estate or trust faces questions from a taxing authority.

For families with complex property or large estates, this coordinated work can help ensure that legal documents, tax planning, investments, and business arrangements support the same long-term objectives.

I Want to Leave Money to Charity

Some families want their estate plan to support more than individual beneficiaries.

Conlin, McKenney & Philbrick assists with charitable trusts, planned charitable giving, current gifts, and other charitable-planning strategies. These arrangements may allow clients to support community organizations, educational institutions, foundations, or other causes that have played an important role in their lives.

Charitable planning may also need to be coordinated with estate-tax, income-tax, and family wealth-transfer goals. The firm’s estate-planning and tax experience allows these considerations to be addressed together.

Dad Died and I Am Responsible for the Estate

Serving as a personal representative or trustee can be overwhelming, especially when family members are grieving and unfamiliar legal responsibilities must be handled quickly.

The firm guides personal representatives, trustees, beneficiaries, and families through probate, estate settlement, and trust administration. This can involve gathering and valuing assets, addressing creditor claims, managing real estate or business interests, preparing tax returns, paying expenses, interpreting estate-planning documents, and distributing property to beneficiaries.

Several attorneys in the group have extensive experience with estates involving real estate, closely held companies, tax issues, and challenging family relationships. That depth may be important when an estate cannot be settled through a simple sequence of forms and distributions.

The Trustee’s Job Is More Complicated Than Expected

A trustee is responsible for following the trust document, protecting trust property, maintaining records, addressing tax obligations, and treating beneficiaries according to the terms of the trust.

These responsibilities can become especially demanding when a trust owns real estate, business interests, or complicated investments, or when beneficiaries disagree about distributions and management decisions.

Conlin, McKenney & Philbrick assists trustees with trust administration and fiduciary tax matters. The firm can also help trustees understand important deadlines, organize the administration process, and work with accountants, financial advisers, and other professionals when specialized assistance is needed.

Our Family Is Fighting Over an Estate or Trust

Not every estate can be settled cooperatively.

Disputes may involve the interpretation or validity of a will or trust, allegations against a personal representative or trustee, disagreements among beneficiaries, contested distributions, or conflict concerning the management of estate property.

The firm’s estate-planning group is supported by experienced litigation attorneys who handle probate and trust litigation. This gives families access to both estate-administration knowledge and courtroom experience when negotiation does not resolve the disagreement.

For a family already facing conflict, having these capabilities within the same firm may reduce the need to move the matter between separate estate and litigation practices.

A Broad Estate-Planning Team in Ann Arbor

Conlin, McKenney & Philbrick has served clients from its Ann Arbor practice for generations. Its estate-planning team includes attorneys with experience in traditional family planning, probate, trusts, taxation, charitable giving, wealth transfer, business succession, real estate, disability planning, and litigation.

That breadth makes the firm suitable for clients at several different stages: someone preparing a first estate plan, parents working through difficult inheritance decisions, a business owner planning a transition, a trustee administering a complicated trust, or a family facing a contested probate matter.

The firm is located in downtown Ann Arbor and serves individuals, families, fiduciaries, and business owners in Washtenaw County and elsewhere in Michigan.

Practice Areas

• Estate Planning

• Wills

• Trusts

• Durable Powers of Attorney

• Living Wills

• Probate Administration

• Trust Administration

• Estate Settlement

• Probate Litigation

• Trust Litigation

• Estate and Income-Tax Planning

• Estate-Tax Planning

• Estate-Tax Return Preparation

• Fiduciary Income-Tax Returns

• Wealth-Transfer Planning

• Lifetime Gifting

• Asset Protection

• Charitable Planning

• Business Succession Planning

• Disability Planning

• Guardianship Planning