Lucido & Manzella

Estate Planning Attorneys in Clinton Township, Michigan

Lucido & Manzella, P.C. is a Clinton Township law firm whose broader practice includes criminal defense, family law, bankruptcy, personal injury and estate planning. Its estate-planning attorneys help individuals and families decide who should receive their property, who should act for them if they become incapacitated and who should care for their minor children.

The firm prepares wills, trusts, financial and healthcare powers of attorney, and living wills or healthcare directives. Its work also includes business-succession planning, charitable giving, planning for beneficiaries with special needs and guidance involving probate.

Estate planning may involve more than deciding what happens after death. A complete plan can also address who will pay bills, manage property or communicate healthcare decisions if an illness or injury prevents someone from handling those responsibilities personally.

Who Would Care for Your Children—and Manage Their Inheritance?

Parents of minor children may be concerned about who would raise their children if both parents died. Lucido & Manzella helps clients nominate guardians through their estate-planning documents rather than leaving that decision entirely to a court after a family tragedy.

Naming a guardian is only one part of the problem. Young children ordinarily are not prepared to receive or manage a significant inheritance. A trust can establish who will manage the property and how it may be used for the children until they reach the age or ages selected in the plan.

These decisions may involve the family home, savings, life-insurance proceeds and other property intended to support the children. Planning allows parents to identify the people they trust to provide care and manage those resources.

A trust may also be considered when a family wants to provide for a loved one with special needs. The firm specifically identifies trusts designed to care for special-needs beneficiaries among the planning options it discusses.

Your Family Has Changed but Your Estate Plan Has Not

An estate plan can become outdated as a family’s circumstances change. Lucido & Manzella advises reviewing a plan after events such as divorce, remarriage, the birth of a child, the death of a beneficiary, the purchase of a home or a serious medical diagnosis.

A divorce may leave an old plan naming people who are no longer intended to receive property or exercise authority. Remarriage can create different concerns, particularly when spouses have children from previous relationships. In a blended family involving “yours, mine and ours,” leaving everything to a surviving spouse may not necessarily produce the result each spouse intends for all of the children.

The birth of a child may require new guardian nominations and provisions for managing an inheritance. The death of a named beneficiary, trustee or agent can create a vacancy that should be addressed before the documents are needed.

Property changes matter as well. A plan created before someone bought a house, started a business or accumulated additional financial accounts may no longer reflect what the person owns or how that property should be distributed.

You Cannot Manage Finances or Make Medical Decisions

A serious illness, accident or cognitive decline can make incapacity planning immediately important. If someone cannot manage bank accounts, pay household expenses or address other financial matters, another person may need legal authority to act.

Lucido & Manzella prepares general financial powers of attorney through which clients can select an agent to handle authorized financial responsibilities. Making that choice in advance can help a family know who is supposed to act instead of trying to resolve the question during a medical crisis.

Healthcare planning presents a related but separate concern. A healthcare power of attorney allows a person to identify someone to participate in medical decisions when the patient cannot communicate or decide independently. A living will or healthcare directive can record the person’s wishes regarding treatment and end-of-life care.

These documents can be relevant for an older adult experiencing declining health, but incapacity is not limited to older people. An unexpected injury or sudden illness can leave an adult of any age unable to communicate. Planning in advance gives the family written guidance at a time when relatives may otherwise be uncertain or disagree about what should happen.

You Own a Business That Must Continue Without You

For a business owner, an estate plan may need to address both the family and the future of the company. Lucido & Manzella includes business-succession planning among its estate-planning services.

The practical questions can include who should manage the business if the owner becomes incapacitated, who should eventually receive the ownership interest and whether that person is also the right person to operate the company. If several children are beneficiaries but only one works in the business, treating everyone fairly may require more planning than simply dividing the ownership equally.

The firm’s estate-planning process may account for business assets, life insurance, retirement plans, stocks, mutual funds and other financial property. Life insurance or other assets may sometimes be incorporated into a succession plan intended to help keep a company together or provide for family members who will not take over its operation.

Succession planning can therefore connect decisions about management, ownership and inheritance. Addressing those questions before a death or disabling illness may reduce uncertainty for relatives, employees and other people who depend on the business.

A Loved One Dies Without a Will or Available Family Representative

When someone dies, another person may need to identify property, address bills and carry out the legal work associated with the estate. Lucido & Manzella provides probate guidance for beneficiaries and has experience involving estates in which there is no readily available person to serve.

Attorneys Vincenzo Manzella and Kimberly Dibartolomeo were appointed as Macomb County Public Administrators by the Michigan Attorney General in 2018. A public administrator may become involved when a deceased person left no will or known heirs, when no family member is available or willing to serve, or when an impartial fiduciary is needed.

That experience relates to problems families encounter when responsibility for an estate is unclear. Relatives may disagree about who should act, the named personal representative may have died, or the person who died may have lived alone without close family nearby. In other cases, beneficiaries may know they will inherit but may not understand the probate process or what must happen before property can be distributed.

For someone creating an estate plan, these possibilities also illustrate why the choice of a personal representative matters. The person selected should be willing and able to handle the responsibilities that arise after death, and the plan should identify an alternate in case the first choice cannot serve.

Estate Planning Services in Clinton Township and Macomb County

Lucido & Manzella is located at 39999 Garfield Road, Suite C, in Clinton Township, Michigan. The firm has served Macomb County for more than 25 years.

The practice serves Clinton Township, Warren, Sterling Heights, Washington Township, Shelby Township, Roseville and Utica among its service areas. The firm also describes its broader practice as serving clients throughout the Detroit metropolitan area and Michigan, although its estate-planning materials are principally presented in connection with its Clinton Township and Macomb County practice.

Practice Areas

• Estate Planning

• Wills

• Trusts

• Financial Powers of Attorney

• Healthcare Powers of Attorney

• Living Wills and Healthcare Directives

• Guardianship Nominations for Minor Children

• Planning for Special-Needs Beneficiaries

• Business-Succession Planning

• Charitable Giving

• Probate Guidance