Lubera & Parnell

Estate Planning, Probate & Elder Law Attorneys in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan

An estate plan may need to address much more than the eventual distribution of property. Parents may want assets managed for young children, a family may need to protect the interests of a loved one with special needs, or several generations may share a cottage they hope to keep in the family. Business owners, art collectors, and families concerned about long-term care can face additional planning decisions.

Lubera & Parnell, P.L.C. provides estate planning, probate and trust administration, elder law, business planning, and related services from offices in Grosse Pointe Farms and Troy. The firm's estate work ranges from wills, trusts, and incapacity documents to more specialized planning involving charitable giving, business succession, long-term care, and significant or unusual assets.

Attorneys Robert R. Lubera and John R. Parnell Jr. both have substantial practices involving estates, trusts, and probate matters.

Building an Estate Plan Around the People Who Depend on You

Lubera & Parnell prepares estate plans addressing both the transfer of property after death and the management of affairs during life.

The firm's planning services include living trusts, pour-over wills, financial and medical powers of attorney, and HIPAA authorizations. Depending on the client's circumstances, planning can also involve irrevocable life insurance trusts, charitable trusts, and other arrangements.

For parents, an estate plan can address how property should be managed for minor children rather than simply identifying them as beneficiaries. Families can consider who should manage inherited assets and how those assets should be used while children are young.

Planning can also address pets and other responsibilities that may otherwise be overlooked when an estate plan focuses exclusively on financial beneficiaries.

Providing for a Loved One With Special Needs

Leaving an inheritance to a beneficiary with special needs requires consideration of that person's circumstances rather than simply providing for an outright distribution.

Lubera & Parnell assists families with estate planning involving beneficiaries with special needs. The objective may include providing additional resources for the beneficiary while considering the government programs and assistance on which that individual relies.

For parents, grandparents, and other relatives, this can make the structure of the inheritance as important as its value.

Planning ahead allows the family to consider who should manage assets, how those resources should be available for the beneficiary, and how the inheritance fits with the person's other sources of support.

Keeping a Family Cottage in the Family

A vacation home or family cottage can create estate-planning issues that are very different from those involving an ordinary financial account.

Lubera & Parnell specifically works with families planning for cottages. Property shared across generations can raise questions about future ownership, management, expenses, and how family members will use the property after the original owners are gone.

The issue may be particularly important when parents want a cottage to remain available to children and grandchildren rather than simply being sold as part of an estate.

Planning provides an opportunity to address the property's future before several beneficiaries inherit interests and must make those decisions together.

For Michigan families with property that has both financial and sentimental value, the cottage may therefore require its own consideration within the broader estate plan.

Long-Term Care, Medicaid & Elder Law Planning

The possibility of long-term care can change the financial concerns facing an older adult and family.

Lubera & Parnell's elder-law practice includes long-term-care planning, Medicaid strategies, and veterans benefits. These services can be coordinated with wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and other estate-planning arrangements.

Families may need to consider how future care needs interact with existing assets and the individual's plans for those assets. Addressing those questions before care becomes an immediate crisis can provide more opportunity to evaluate the available options.

The firm's elder-law work allows long-term-care concerns to be considered alongside the client's broader estate and family circumstances rather than as an entirely separate issue.

Administering an Estate After a Death

Lubera & Parnell represents families through probate and estate administration.

The firm's work includes preparing Probate Court filings, inventories and accountings and handling other requirements involved in administering an estate. It also evaluates tax issues arising during administration and prepares estate tax returns when necessary.

For a personal representative, these responsibilities can involve much more than distributing property according to a will. Estate assets need to be identified and administered, required filings completed, and tax and other legal obligations addressed before administration can be concluded.

Lubera & Parnell assists clients with those responsibilities throughout the probate process.

Taking Over the Administration of a Trust

A trust may keep properly held property outside routine probate, but administration does not end when the person who created the trust dies.

A successor trustee must assume responsibility for the trust and carry out its terms for the beneficiaries. Lubera & Parnell advises trustees and families through post-death trust administration.

The responsibilities involved depend on the trust and the property it holds. Assets may need to be managed or distributed, beneficiaries may need information, and tax or other administrative issues may need attention.

Some trusts terminate and distribute property relatively quickly, while others are designed to continue managing assets for beneficiaries.

The firm's work encompasses both probate estates and post-death trusts, allowing families to obtain assistance regardless of which structure governs the deceased person's property.

Probate and Trust Disputes

Lubera & Parnell also handles litigation involving probate estates and trusts.

John R. Parnell Jr.'s practice includes probate and trust litigation as well as estate planning and administration. His work regularly involves Probate Courts in Wayne, Macomb, Oakland, and St. Clair counties.

Disputes can arise over the administration of an estate or trust, the interests of beneficiaries, or other issues requiring Probate Court involvement.

These cases differ from routine administration because the parties may have competing positions that must be resolved before the estate or trust can proceed.

The firm's experience encompasses both the administration of estates and trusts and representation when those matters become contested.

Passing a Business to the Next Generation — or a New Owner

For a business owner, the company may be one of the most significant assets in the estate.

Lubera & Parnell provides business succession planning for owners considering what should happen to a company in the future. That may involve transferring the business to the next generation, bringing in another owner, or preparing for an eventual sale.

These decisions can have both estate-planning and tax implications.

Addressing succession before retirement, incapacity, or death gives the owner an opportunity to determine how a transition should occur rather than leaving the future of the company unresolved.

The firm's combination of estate, tax, and business planning allows ownership succession to be considered as part of the client's broader financial and family plan.

Incorporating Charitable Giving Into an Estate Plan

For clients who want part of their wealth to benefit charitable organizations or causes, Lubera & Parnell provides charitable planning as part of its estate practice.

The firm's services include planning for outright charitable gifts, charitable trusts, and private foundations.

Charitable planning can be coordinated with gifts to family members and other beneficiaries rather than treated as a separate decision. Depending on the client's objectives, it may also involve tax considerations and decisions about whether charitable giving should occur during life or through the estate plan.

This gives clients who have significant charitable objectives several structures to consider when deciding how their property should ultimately be used.

Planning for Art and Collectibles

Artwork can present estate issues that ordinary financial assets do not.

Lubera & Parnell has a dedicated art-law practice serving artists and collectors. Its work includes ownership and transfer issues, estate planning and administration, and tax considerations involving art.

For a collector, the questions may include whether artwork should pass to family members, be sold, or ultimately go to a museum or other institution. Planning may also require reliable valuation and coordination with professionals such as appraisers, galleries, auction houses, and museums.

This experience allows significant art collections to be addressed within the broader estate rather than treated like ordinary household property.

Estate, Tax & Probate Experience

Robert R. Lubera practices in estate planning, probate and trust administration, elder law, business planning, and art law. He earned an LL.M. in Taxation from Wayne State University Law School and is a member of the State Bar of Michigan's Probate & Estate Planning and Elder Law & Advocacy sections.

His professional background also includes extensive involvement with senior-services and healthcare organizations, complementing the firm's elder-law practice.

John R. Parnell Jr.'s practice includes estate planning, estate administration, and probate and trust litigation. His Probate Court work includes matters in Wayne, Macomb, Oakland, and St. Clair counties.

Together, the firm's estate-related services span planning during life, administration after death, and representation when probate or trust matters become disputed.

Grosse Pointe Farms & Troy Offices

Lubera & Parnell maintains an office at 102 Kercheval Avenue, Suite 201 in Grosse Pointe Farms and a second office in Troy. Robert Lubera meets with clients at both locations, while John Parnell meets with clients at the Grosse Pointe Farms office.

Practice Areas

• Estate Planning

• Living Trusts

• Pour-Over Wills

• Financial Powers of Attorney

• Medical Powers of Attorney

• HIPAA Authorizations

• Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts

• Special-Needs Planning

• Family Cottage Planning

• Charitable Trusts and Charitable Giving

• Private Foundations

• Probate and Estate Administration

• Trust Administration

• Probate and Trust Litigation

• Elder Law

• Long-Term-Care Planning

• Medicaid Planning

• Veterans Benefits Planning

• Business Succession Planning

• Art and Collectibles Estate Planning