National Legal Solutions Center

Estate Planning Attorneys in St. Clair Shores, Michigan

National Legal Solutions Center focuses on estate planning and related legal issues that can arise as families plan for incapacity, aging, the transfer of property, and the administration of an estate after a death. From its headquarters in St. Clair Shores, the firm assists clients with wills and trusts, powers of attorney, elder-law planning, asset protection, guardianships, estate administration, and disputes involving estates and trusts.

The firm works with clients whose needs range from establishing a basic estate plan to addressing more complicated concerns involving long-term care, significant assets, business or investment property, a beneficiary with disabilities, or conflict among family members after a death. National Legal Solutions Center also offers virtual consultations and serves clients beyond Michigan.

Building a Plan for Property and Incapacity

Estate planning involves deciding what should happen to property after death, but it can also address what happens if someone becomes unable to manage important matters during life. National Legal Solutions Center prepares estate-planning documents and helps clients consider how those documents should work together as part of a broader plan.

A family may be concerned about who will receive a home or other property, who should have authority to make decisions during an incapacity, or whether existing arrangements still accomplish what the client intends. Powers of attorney can provide another person with authority when assistance with financial or other matters becomes necessary, while wills and trusts can address the eventual transfer and management of property.

These decisions can become more complicated when a client owns a business, rental property, investments, or other substantial assets, or when a family member will need continuing financial protection after the client's death. The firm's broader estate-planning practice allows those circumstances to be considered when choosing appropriate planning strategies.

Living Trusts and Avoiding Probate

For some families, avoiding probate is an important estate-planning objective. National Legal Solutions Center uses living trusts as one option for transferring and managing property without requiring those assets to pass through probate after death.

A revocable living trust can also provide a framework for managing assets during the trust creator's lifetime and transferring them to beneficiaries afterward. Whether a trust is appropriate depends on the client's property and objectives rather than simply on a desire to have more estate-planning documents.

The firm also distinguishes between the probate-avoidance benefits of a revocable living trust and true asset protection. A revocable trust can be useful for estate planning and transferring property, but the firm cautions that placing assets in one does not automatically protect those assets from the client's creditors.

When Asset Protection or an Irrevocable Trust May Matter

Some clients have concerns that go beyond determining who should inherit their property. A business owner may be worried about liabilities associated with the business, a landlord may own rental properties, or someone with substantial investments may want to consider how those assets could be exposed to future claims.

National Legal Solutions Center advises clients about asset-protection strategies that can include limited liability companies, irrevocable trusts, and certain partnership arrangements. These strategies may be relevant when clients are trying to reduce exposure associated with real estate, business interests, investments, or other assets.

Asset-protection planning can involve legal and tax considerations and is different from simply transferring property into a revocable living trust. The firm works with clients to evaluate the level and type of protection appropriate to their circumstances and how those strategies fit within their larger estate plan.

Planning for a Family Member with Special Needs

Leaving an inheritance to a person with disabilities can require additional planning when that person depends on government assistance or will need financial support over an extended period. An outright inheritance may not accomplish the family's goals if eligibility for needs-based benefits also has to be considered.

National Legal Solutions Center assists families with special-needs planning as part of its estate-planning practice. A special-needs trust can provide a structure for holding and managing property intended to benefit a person with disabilities while taking government-benefit considerations into account.

This type of planning can be particularly important for parents or other relatives who want to provide continuing financial resources without simply leaving property directly to the beneficiary.

Aging, Long-Term Care and Elder-Law Concerns

Estate planning can take on a different urgency when an older family member experiences dementia, a stroke, declining physical abilities, or a need for long-term care. Adult children may suddenly be trying to determine who can make decisions, how a parent will pay for care, and what legal protections are available.

National Legal Solutions Center's elder-law practice addresses these circumstances alongside traditional estate planning. The firm works with families on planning intended to preserve an older person's independence when possible while providing legal mechanisms for assistance when it becomes necessary.

Financial vulnerability can also become a concern. Older adults experiencing cognitive or physical decline may be more susceptible to scams, exploitation, or other misuse of their assets. Powers of attorney, guardianships, and other legal arrangements may be considered when a family needs a structure for protecting and managing an older person's affairs.

The firm's elder-law planning also considers government-benefit eligibility and preservation of savings. These issues can become particularly important when long-term care is needed and a family is trying to understand how the cost of that care may affect the older person's finances.

When a Parent Can No Longer Manage Their Own Affairs

Sometimes advance planning is not completed before a person loses the ability to make or communicate important decisions. A family may then need court involvement to establish legal authority for someone else to act.

National Legal Solutions Center handles guardianship matters for families facing those circumstances. A guardianship may become relevant when dementia, cognitive decline, illness, or another condition leaves someone unable to manage important aspects of their own care and there is no adequate alternative already in place.

Guardianship issues can also become contentious when relatives disagree about whether a guardianship is necessary or who should have authority. The firm's work includes both guardianship planning and litigation involving contested guardianships.

Probate and Estate Administration After a Death

The practical work required after a death can be extensive even when the deceased person left an estate plan and family members agree about what should happen. Someone may need to locate documents, determine what property exists, identify benefits, address taxes, and determine whether probate is necessary.

National Legal Solutions Center assists families with estate administration, including reviewing wills and other estate documents and explaining the available options for settling the estate. The firm's services can include helping locate and claim life-insurance policies or retirement benefits and assisting with final tax returns.

When probate is necessary, the firm assists families through that process. It also advises families when someone dies without a will and the estate must instead be handled according to applicable state law.

Families can choose how involved they want to be in the administration process. Some heirs or family members want to participate closely, while others prefer more extensive assistance with the responsibilities involved in settling the estate.

When a Will, Trust or Inheritance Is Disputed

A death can expose disagreements that cannot be resolved through routine estate administration. Someone may believe that a will does not reflect the deceased person's actual intentions, that a family member exerted improper pressure, or that the person signing an estate-planning document lacked the mental capacity to understand it.

National Legal Solutions Center represents clients in estate litigation involving contested wills, trusts, guardianships, and heirship issues. Potential grounds for a dispute can include questions about whether a will was legally executed, whether someone was improperly pressured or excluded, or whether dementia or another cognitive impairment affected the person's capacity when a document was signed.

Disputes can also involve allegations of duress or other circumstances surrounding the execution of a will or trust. The firm evaluates relevant estate-planning documents and other available evidence when determining whether grounds exist for a challenge.

Estate disputes can be particularly difficult because the people involved are often relatives who are simultaneously dealing with a death. When disagreements cannot be resolved informally, the firm's estate-litigation practice provides representation for clients seeking to protect their interests through the legal process.

A St. Clair Shores Firm Serving Clients Beyond Michigan

National Legal Solutions Center is headquartered in St. Clair Shores, where the firm maintains its Michigan office. Its attorneys include John J. Donahue, Sarah Dollison, and Michael Nahas.

The firm concentrates heavily on estate-related matters, with services spanning planning during life, elder-law concerns, estate administration after death, and litigation when disagreements arise. It offers both in-person and virtual consultations and provides estate-planning services to clients beyond Michigan.

Practice Areas

• Estate Planning

• Wills

• Living Trusts

• Revocable Trusts

• Irrevocable Trusts

• Special Needs Planning

• Powers of Attorney

• Elder Law

• Asset Protection

• Guardianships

• Probate

• Estate Administration

• Estate Litigation

• Will and Trust Contests