Oudsema Law

Estate Planning, Probate and Business Succession Attorneys in Kalamazoo, Michigan

Oudsema Law helps families, property owners and businesses plan for the transfer of wealth and address the responsibilities that follow a death or incapacity. Its estate-related services include wills, trusts, special-needs trusts, Ladybird deeds, succession planning, probate and trust administration, guardianship and conservatorship hearings, probate actions and trust enforcement.

A family may need a basic plan identifying who should receive its property. Another may own real estate or a business that requires additional planning. Parents supporting a child with special needs may be concerned about how an inheritance should be held and managed. After a death, a trustee or personal representative may need help carrying out the plan and responding to questions from beneficiaries.

The firm’s combination of estate planning, business law, real-property work and litigation allows it to address these related concerns when they arise within the same family. Its office is located in Kalamazoo.

Planning for the People and Property That Matter

A will can provide instructions about property passing through an estate and identify the people who should receive it. It can also designate the person who will be responsible for administering the estate after death.

Some families may decide that a trust is better suited to part of their plan. A trust can establish who will manage designated property and how that property should be used or distributed. The terms can be developed around the family members, property and long-term purposes involved.

The choice between different planning tools depends on what the family owns and what it wants to accomplish. A household with a home and ordinary financial accounts may have different needs from a family whose wealth includes rental property, a closely held company or assets intended to support beneficiaries over many years.

Oudsema Law’s wealth-transfer practice includes wills, trusts and succession planning. It also works with prenuptial agreements, which can address property rights before marriage and may become part of broader planning for a couple, children from earlier relationships or a family business.

When a Child With Special Needs May Inherit

Parents who provide ongoing support to a child with a disability may be concerned about what will happen when they are no longer available. Their planning may need to address who will manage inherited property, how distributions should be made and how the inheritance fits with other resources available to the beneficiary.

Leaving property directly to the beneficiary may not provide the management structure the parents intended. Oudsema Law prepares special-needs trusts as part of its wealth-transfer practice. A trust can identify a trustee and establish instructions for managing the property for the beneficiary.

Selecting the trustee is an important decision. The person or organization chosen may have continuing responsibilities involving investments, distributions, records and communication. Parents may need to consider whether a relative has the time and financial ability to perform that role or whether another arrangement would be more appropriate.

Special-needs planning can be coordinated with the parents’ broader estate plan so that beneficiary designations, wills and trusts work toward the same goal. The objective is to establish a workable structure for property intended to support the beneficiary in the future.

An Aging Adult Can No Longer Manage Everything Alone

Families sometimes realize that a parent or another vulnerable adult can no longer make safe personal or financial decisions. Cognitive decline, illness or disability may interfere with the person’s ability to manage money, maintain property or arrange necessary care.

When advance planning documents do not resolve the situation, the family may need to seek authority through a guardianship or conservatorship proceeding. A guardian is generally associated with personal and care-related decisions, while a conservator is responsible for financial matters and property.

Oudsema Law handles guardianship and conservatorship hearings. These proceedings can involve determining whether court intervention is necessary, who should be appointed and what authority the appointed person should receive.

The legal appointment is only the beginning of the responsibility. A guardian or conservator may later need to make important decisions, keep records and respond to concerns raised by relatives or other interested parties. Clear identification of the person’s needs and the proposed decision-maker’s responsibilities can help the court evaluate the requested arrangement.

Deciding What Should Happen to the Family Home

A house may represent both a significant part of a family’s wealth and a place with considerable personal importance. Planning for the home can involve deciding who should receive it, whether it should be sold and how it fits with the rest of the estate.

Oudsema Law works with Ladybird deeds as part of its estate-planning and real-property services. This type of deed may be considered when determining how Michigan real estate should be owned and transferred. Whether it is appropriate depends on the owner’s goals and the surrounding circumstances.

Real-property issues can become more complicated when ownership or title is unclear. The firm’s related services include title disputes and quiet-title actions. Those capabilities may be relevant when an estate contains property affected by competing ownership claims or incomplete records.

The firm also handles land-contract forfeitures and foreclosures, condominium establishment and homeowners association disputes. Although these matters extend beyond estate planning, they can become connected to an estate when a personal representative, trustee or beneficiary inherits property with an unresolved legal problem.

A Family Member Has Been Asked to Administer an Estate or Trust

After a death, someone must handle the practical and legal work required to transfer the deceased person’s property. A personal representative may need to locate assets, review debts, communicate with beneficiaries and complete the probate process.

A successor trustee may have similar responsibilities for property held in a trust. The trustee must follow the trust’s instructions, manage the assets and determine when distributions should occur. Real estate, business interests and other property may require attention before the trust can be completed.

Oudsema Law assists with probate and trust administration. This work connects the documents prepared during a person’s lifetime with the tasks required after death.

Administration may be relatively orderly when the documents are clear and family members cooperate. Other estates require more work because property is difficult to value, beneficiaries have questions or the fiduciary must resolve a legal issue before making distributions.

When Beneficiaries Question How a Trust Is Being Handled

A disagreement may arise when a beneficiary believes that a trustee is not following the trust’s instructions. Questions may involve delayed distributions, insufficient information, the management of property or the interpretation of a particular provision.

Oudsema Law handles trust enforcement and probate actions in addition to planning and administration. Its litigation services also include arbitration and business disputes, which may be relevant when contested property includes an ownership interest in a company.

Not every disagreement necessarily has the same path toward resolution. The nature of the documents, the fiduciary’s duties, the property involved and the positions of the interested parties can affect whether the matter is addressed through communication, negotiation, arbitration or court proceedings.

A Business Owner Needs to Prepare for the Next Generation

A closely held business can represent years of work and a major portion of a family’s financial security. Its future may affect the owner, relatives employed by the company and family members who expect to inherit other property.

Succession planning addresses what should happen when the owner retires, dies or transfers an interest in the company. The next owner might be a child already involved in the operation, another business partner or an outside buyer.

Oudsema Law advises businesses and handles succession planning, business purchases and sales, corporate-bylaw compliance, arbitration and business disputes. Its business work includes industries such as construction, greenhouses, manufacturing, fabrication, software development, real estate, and bars and entertainment.

Coordinating the business transition with the owner’s estate plan can help clarify how ownership interests should be treated. The plan may also need to consider family members who will participate in the business and those who will receive other parts of the estate.

Communities Served in Southwest Michigan

Oudsema Law is based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where it provides estate, trust, real-property and business services to families and businesses in the community.

The practice also handles matters in Southwest Michigan, including regional work involving homeowners associations. Its attorneys are licensed in Michigan, and one is also licensed in Illinois.

Practice Areas

• Wills

• Trusts

• Trust and probate administration

• Special-needs trusts

• Succession planning

• Ladybird deeds

• Guardianship and conservatorship hearings

• Probate actions

• Trust enforcement

• Prenuptial agreements

• Business purchases and sales

• Business disputes and arbitration

• Real-property matters

• Title disputes

• Quiet-title actions