Meroueh & Hallman

Estate Planning & Probate Litigation Attorneys in Dearborn, Michigan

Estate matters do not always involve simply writing a will and later distributing property according to its instructions. A family may need to plan differently for beneficiaries with very different circumstances. Someone may need to choose a trusted person to manage finances during incapacity. After a death, a trustee or personal representative can face substantial administrative responsibilities—and sometimes disagreements among beneficiaries can develop into litigation.

Meroueh & Hallman LLP assists individuals and families with estate planning, estate and trust administration, and contested probate matters from its Dearborn office. Its estate practice includes wills, trusts, powers of attorney, special needs planning, estate tax planning, probate litigation, and representation involving the administration of estates and trusts.

Because the firm also handles contested estate and trust proceedings, its work extends beyond creating plans to situations in which family members, beneficiaries, fiduciaries, or other interested parties disagree about how an estate or trust should be handled.

Planning Around the People Who Will Inherit

An estate plan can account for more than the identity of the people who will receive property. How an inheritance is structured may depend on the circumstances of the individual beneficiary.

Meroueh & Hallman prepares wills and trusts based on a client's property, family circumstances, and objectives. Its estate-planning work includes consideration of the needs and abilities of beneficiaries when determining how property should be handled.

For some families, an outright inheritance may be appropriate. Others may want property managed through a trust, particularly when a beneficiary is young or when circumstances make continued management preferable to an immediate distribution.

The firm's trust practice includes revocable and testamentary trusts as well as specialized trust arrangements used for particular family, charitable, property, or tax-planning objectives. The appropriate structure depends on the client's circumstances rather than every family requiring the same type of trust.

Providing for a Family Member With Special Needs

Planning can require additional care when an intended beneficiary has disabilities and relies on means-tested public benefits.

Meroueh & Hallman assists families with special needs trusts designed to provide resources for a person with disabilities while taking eligibility for programs such as Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid into consideration.

Rather than transferring an inheritance directly to the beneficiary, a trust can place assets under the management of a trustee and establish how those resources can be used under the terms of the plan.

This can address an important concern for parents and other relatives: how to leave resources for a loved one with special needs without treating that inheritance in exactly the same way as property left to other beneficiaries.

Choosing Someone to Act During Incapacity

Estate planning also involves decisions that may become important while a client is still alive.

Meroueh & Hallman prepares powers of attorney addressing financial matters and planning documents concerning healthcare decisions. These arrangements allow clients to select trusted individuals to act if illness, injury, or another circumstance leaves them unable to handle important decisions independently.

Choosing that person can require careful consideration. The individual given financial authority may eventually be responsible for managing accounts, paying expenses, handling property, or dealing with other significant financial matters.

Putting those arrangements in place before incapacity provides written authority for the person the client has selected rather than waiting until a family is already dealing with a crisis.

Administering an Estate or Trust After a Death

Creating an estate plan is only one part of the process. Eventually, someone may be responsible for carrying out its instructions.

Meroueh & Hallman's practice includes estate and trust administration. The firm represents fiduciaries responsible for managing property and fulfilling obligations associated with an estate or trust.

Those responsibilities can become significant. A personal representative or trustee may need to identify and manage assets, address financial obligations, maintain appropriate records, communicate with interested parties, and ultimately distribute property to the appropriate beneficiaries.

Attorney Zachary Hallman's trust and estate experience includes representation of trustees, executors, and beneficiaries, as well as estate administration matters.

For someone taking on a fiduciary role for the first time, the responsibility may be unfamiliar even when the underlying estate plan is clear. Legal assistance can help the fiduciary address the administration process and the obligations that accompany the appointment.

When Family Members Challenge a Will or Estate

Not every estate proceeds without disagreement.

Meroueh & Hallman represents clients in contested probate matters involving wills, estates, and trusts. These disputes can involve fundamental questions about who is entitled to inherit property or whether an estate is being handled properly.

The firm's probate litigation work includes testacy and heirship disputes, which can arise when interested parties disagree about the validity or effect of a will or about who legally qualifies as an heir.

Other disputes may concern jointly owned property or the way particular assets are treated after a death. When family members or other interested parties cannot resolve these questions themselves, probate court proceedings may be necessary to determine their respective rights.

The firm represents heirs and other interested parties in these proceedings as well as fiduciaries responsible for administering estates and trusts.

Disputes Over Trustees and Other Fiduciaries

Sometimes the estate plan itself is not the source of the disagreement. Instead, beneficiaries may question how the person placed in charge is performing that role.

Meroueh & Hallman handles breach-of-fiduciary-duty claims and disputes involving inventories, accountings, fiduciary compensation, and estate or trust distributions.

An accounting dispute, for example, can develop when beneficiaries have questions about what property came under a fiduciary's control, how money was spent, or what happened to particular assets. Disagreements can also arise over the fees charged by a trustee or other fiduciary or over when and how beneficiaries should receive distributions.

Zachary Hallman's experience includes representing trustees, executors, and beneficiaries in breach-of-fiduciary-duty matters. The firm also handles trust reformation matters when issues involving the terms or operation of a trust require legal proceedings.

Because Meroueh & Hallman represents people serving as fiduciaries as well as beneficiaries and other interested parties, its probate practice encompasses disputes from different sides of the administration process.

Guardianship and Conservatorship Conflicts

Probate court disputes are not limited to what happens after someone dies. Families can also disagree about how to protect a living person who may no longer be able to manage personal or financial matters independently.

Meroueh & Hallman's probate litigation practice includes contested guardianship and conservatorship proceedings.

These cases can involve disagreements over whether court intervention is necessary, who should be appointed to make decisions or manage property, and how a guardian or conservator is performing those responsibilities.

Unlike an inheritance dispute, these proceedings concern decisions affecting a living person's care, finances, property, and independence. That can make conflicts particularly difficult for families when relatives disagree about what should happen or who should be entrusted with responsibility.

Resolving Probate Disputes Outside the Courtroom

A contested probate matter does not necessarily have to proceed all the way through a court trial.

Meroueh & Hallman also uses mediation in probate disputes. Mediation gives the parties an opportunity to work toward an agreed resolution while a dispute is pending rather than leaving every contested issue for a judge to decide.

That option can be relevant in estate and trust disputes because the parties are often relatives or other people with longstanding relationships. Even when litigation has already begun, there may be circumstances in which the parties can reach an agreement concerning property, distributions, fiduciary issues, or other contested matters.

When an agreement is not possible, the firm's probate litigation practice also encompasses representation through contested proceedings.

Estate Planning When Tax or Charitable Goals Are Involved

Some estate plans involve objectives beyond transferring property among immediate family members.

Meroueh & Hallman's services include estate tax planning and charitable trust planning. Its trust practice encompasses several specialized structures, including irrevocable life insurance trusts, credit shelter trusts, qualified terminable interest property trusts, qualified personal residence trusts, and charitable trusts.

These tools address particular planning circumstances and are not necessary for every estate. Their inclusion in the firm's practice, however, allows estate planning to extend beyond basic wills and revocable trusts when a client's assets or objectives call for a more specialized structure.

From Dearborn to Families Across Metro Detroit

Meroueh & Hallman maintains its office on Ford Road in Dearborn and works with clients throughout the Detroit metropolitan area.

The firm's attorneys practice in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, and Washtenaw Counties, giving the Dearborn practice a reach across much of Southeast Michigan. Its estate-related work includes advance planning as well as estate and trust administration, probate litigation, and guardianship and conservatorship disputes.

Practice Areas

• Estate Planning

• Wills

• Pour-Over Wills

• Revocable Trusts

• Testamentary Trusts

• Special Needs Trusts

• Trusts for Minors

• Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts

• Credit Shelter Trusts

• QTIP Trusts

• Qualified Personal Residence Trusts

• Charitable Trusts

• Powers of Attorney

• Healthcare Planning

• Estate Tax Planning

• Estate Administration

• Trust Administration

• Probate Litigation

• Will Contests

• Trust Disputes

• Heirship & Testacy Disputes

• Fiduciary Representation

• Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims

• Fiduciary Accountings

• Guardianship & Conservatorship Disputes

• Probate Mediation