Randall L. Brown Law

Estate Planning, Estate Administration and Real Estate Lawyer in Kalamazoo, Michigan

Randall L. Brown Law assists families with estate planning, estate and trust administration, real-estate matters and business succession. The Kalamazoo practice prepares wills, trusts, healthcare and general powers of attorney, and Lady Bird deeds. It also helps clients revise existing estate plans and carry out administrative responsibilities after a death.

These services can address several stages of a family’s legal planning. Someone may be creating a first will after buying a home or having children. An older couple may need to decide who can manage their finances or healthcare if one of them becomes incapacitated. After a parent dies, a family member may be responsible for administering the estate or trust.

Real estate and business interests can add another layer to that work. A family may need to determine how a home should pass, resolve a title or boundary problem, or plan for the future ownership of a closely held business. Randall L. Brown Law’s related real-estate and business practices allow those assets to be considered as part of the family’s broader circumstances.

Who Should Receive the Family’s Property?

A last will and testament allows someone to provide instructions for property administered through an estate. It can identify intended beneficiaries and designate the person who will be responsible for carrying out the plan.

A trust may be useful when property needs to be managed or distributed under a more detailed set of instructions. The person creating the trust can select a trustee and establish how covered assets should be handled for the beneficiaries.

The appropriate plan depends on what the family owns and whom it wants to provide for. A household with a home and ordinary financial accounts may have different needs from someone who owns multiple properties or an interest in a business.

Randall L. Brown Law prepares both wills and trusts and reviews existing estate plans. A review may be appropriate when relationships, property ownership or the people originally selected for important responsibilities have changed.

If Illness Makes It Difficult to Manage Personal Affairs

Estate planning also addresses decisions that may need to be made during a person’s lifetime. An accident, illness or cognitive decline can interfere with someone’s ability to manage finances, pay expenses or communicate healthcare choices.

A general power of attorney can authorize a selected person to handle financial and practical matters within the authority provided by the document. The chosen agent may need to work with financial institutions, address household expenses or protect property while the individual is unable to act.

A healthcare power of attorney allows someone to select a person to make medical decisions if the individual cannot make or communicate those decisions independently. Preparing the document in advance can give the family clearer direction during a medical emergency.

The financial and healthcare responsibilities do not necessarily have to be assigned to the same person. Families can consider each individual’s abilities, availability and relationship with the person creating the plan before deciding who should serve.

Deciding How the Family Home Should Pass

A home is often one of a family’s most valuable assets. It may also be the place where a spouse continues to live or property that parents eventually want their children to receive.

Randall L. Brown Law prepares Lady Bird deeds as part of both its estate-planning and real-estate services. This type of deed may be considered when planning for the future transfer of Michigan real estate. Whether it fits a particular plan depends on the owner’s goals, the property and the surrounding family circumstances.

Deed preparation should be coordinated with the rest of the estate plan. The way property is titled can affect how it is transferred, while the will or trust may contain additional directions for the owner’s other assets.

A family may also encounter an existing issue involving the property. The firm handles mortgage and title matters, property-line disputes, easements, rights of way, lot splits and riparian-rights issues. Those services may become relevant when inherited property cannot be transferred or sold until a legal concern is resolved.

A Family Member Must Administer an Estate or Trust

After someone dies, the plan still has to be carried out. The person responsible may need to identify property, review documents, address expenses and determine how the assets should be transferred to beneficiaries.

Estate administration can involve property governed by a will as well as assets affected by ownership documents and beneficiary arrangements. If the estate includes a home or other real estate, the person administering it may need to maintain, transfer or sell the property.

A successor trustee has responsibilities for assets held in a trust. The trustee must follow the terms of the document, manage the property and make distributions as directed. The work may also involve communicating with beneficiaries and maintaining records of trust activity.

Randall L. Brown Law assists with both estate and trust administration. This provides continuity between preparing the original plan and completing the legal work required after death.

When Inherited Real Estate Presents a Problem

Inherited real estate is not always ready for an immediate sale or transfer. A deed may contain an error, the ownership history may be unclear, or relatives may disagree about the boundaries or permitted use of the property.

Residential real-estate services include purchases and sales, land contracts, deed preparation, mortgage issues, title matters, property-line disputes, easements and rights of way. The firm also handles lot splits and issues involving riparian rights.

These concerns can affect the administration of an estate or trust. 

A fiduciary may need to resolve a title issue before distributing the property, or the beneficiaries may decide that the property should be sold and the proceeds divided.

The firm also handles commercial real estate, leases, contract review and negotiation, zoning and land-use matters, and platting. Those services may be relevant when an estate contains income-producing property, undeveloped land or property connected to a family business.

A Business Owner Is Preparing for Retirement or the Next Generation

For a small-business owner, the company may provide current income, retirement value and employment for relatives. Its future can therefore become an important part of the owner’s estate plan.

Business succession planning addresses what should happen when an owner retires, sells the company, dies or is no longer able to manage it. The intended successor may be a child who already works in the business, another owner or an outside purchaser.

Randall L. Brown Law’s business services include succession planning, corporate formation and dissolution, mergers and acquisitions, contracts, licensing and small-business matters. The firm also handles business disputes, employment matters and debt collection.

Coordinating business and estate planning can help clarify how an ownership interest should be treated. It can also account for the different positions of family members who will participate in the company and beneficiaries who will receive other property.

Serving Kalamazoo, Portage and Southwest Michigan

Randall L. Brown Law is located in Kalamazoo and specifically identifies Kalamazoo and Portage as part of its service area. The practice has served clients in Southwest Michigan since 1982.

The business-law practice also handles matters arising elsewhere in Michigan. Its municipal work includes representing Southwest Michigan residents and municipalities, including the City of Portage.

Practice Areas

• Last wills and testaments

• Trusts

• Healthcare powers of attorney

• General powers of attorney

• Estate-plan revisions

• Estate administration

• Trust administration

• Lady Bird deeds

• Residential and commercial real estate

• Deed preparation and title matters

• Land contracts

• Property-line and easement disputes

• Business succession planning

• Business formation and dissolution

• Mergers and acquisitions

• Contracts and small-business matters