Mall, Malisow & Cooney

Estate Planning & Probate Attorneys in Farmington Hills, Michigan

Estate planning often becomes more complicated as families face the realities of aging, disability, and changing healthcare needs. A couple may need to prepare for the possibility that one spouse will require long-term care. Adult children may suddenly find themselves helping a parent who can no longer manage finances or make medical decisions. Families caring for a loved one with disabilities often have questions about preserving financial security while maintaining eligibility for public benefits. Mall Malisow & Cooney concentrates its practice on helping clients prepare for these situations through estate planning, elder law, probate, and disability planning.

Rather than treating estate planning as a standalone service, the firm's practice integrates long-term care planning, special needs planning, estate administration, and advocacy for older adults and individuals with disabilities. This broader perspective reflects the reality that legal planning frequently evolves as families encounter new medical, financial, and personal challenges. 

Preparing for the Financial and Legal Challenges of Aging

Estate planning often focuses on what happens after death, but many important decisions arise during a person's lifetime. An unexpected illness, a diagnosis involving cognitive decline, or the need for assisted living can leave families making difficult decisions under significant emotional pressure.

Mall Malisow & Cooney assists clients with planning for these possibilities before they occur. Estate plans may include wills, trusts, financial powers of attorney, patient advocate designations, and other legal documents that allow trusted individuals to make financial and healthcare decisions if a client becomes unable to do so independently. Planning ahead can provide families with greater flexibility while reducing the likelihood that court intervention will become necessary.

Planning for Long-Term Care Before It Becomes Urgent

The cost of long-term care is a concern for many Michigan families. Questions about paying for nursing home care, qualifying for Medicaid, and protecting financial resources often arise unexpectedly after a serious illness or injury.

Long-term care planning and Medicaid planning are significant parts of the firm's practice. By evaluating available options before immediate care is required, clients may be better positioned to make informed decisions about future healthcare needs while preserving assets where permitted under applicable law. This planning frequently becomes an important part of an overall estate plan rather than a separate legal issue.

Providing Long-Term Security for Loved Ones with Disabilities

Families caring for a child or adult with disabilities often face planning decisions that extend well beyond traditional inheritance questions. Parents and other relatives may wish to provide financial support without unintentionally affecting eligibility for Supplemental Security Income, Medicaid, or other public assistance programs.

Special needs planning is an important part of the firm's practice. Through special needs trusts and related planning strategies, families can prepare for a loved one's future while coordinating private financial resources with available government benefits. This type of planning allows clients to focus not only on asset distribution but also on maintaining long-term quality of life for vulnerable family members.

Helping Families When Advance Planning Wasn't Completed

Not every family has the opportunity to prepare powers of attorney or other estate planning documents before a loved one loses the ability to make informed decisions.

When that happens, guardianships and conservatorships may become necessary to protect individuals who can no longer manage personal or financial affairs independently. Mall Malisow & Cooney assists families through these proceedings while helping them understand the responsibilities that accompany court-appointed decision-making. The firm's practice also includes advocacy for older adults and individuals with disabilities whose legal, medical, or financial circumstances require additional protection.

Guiding Personal Representatives and Families Through Probate

Following the death of a loved one, family members are often responsible for administering an estate while also coping with the personal loss. Personal representatives may need to gather assets, satisfy creditors, communicate with beneficiaries, prepare required court filings, and distribute property according to a will or Michigan law.

The firm assists clients throughout probate and estate administration, helping fiduciaries understand their legal responsibilities and navigate the administration process. When disagreements arise involving estates, trusts, or fiduciaries, the practice also includes probate litigation and related dispute resolution.

Estate Planning That Continues as Life Changes

An estate plan is rarely something that remains unchanged for decades. Retirement, declining health, the birth of grandchildren, changes in financial circumstances, or evolving care needs may all affect decisions that were appropriate years earlier.

Because the firm's practice combines estate planning, elder law, disability planning, and probate administration, clients can revisit and update their plans as circumstances change. This approach recognizes that estate planning is often an ongoing process that adapts alongside a family's changing needs rather than a single set of documents prepared once and never reviewed.

Serving Families from Farmington Hills

Mall Malisow & Cooney serves clients from its Farmington Hills office, assisting individuals, families, fiduciaries, and estates throughout southeastern Michigan. The firm's practice includes estate planning, elder law, long-term care planning, special needs planning, probate, and related legal services for families preparing for future healthcare, financial, and estate administration decisions.

Practice Areas

• Estate Planning

• Elder Law

• Wills

• Trusts

• Estate Administration

• Probate

• Probate Litigation

• Medicaid Planning

• Long-Term Care Planning

• Special Needs Planning

• Disability Planning & Advocacy

• Guardianships

• Conservatorships

• Powers of Attorney

• Patient Advocate Designations

• VA Benefits Planning

• Business Succession Planning