Staver & Anderson

Estate Planning, Probate & Elder Law Attorneys in Taylor, Michigan

Estate planning can involve much more than deciding who receives property after death. Families may need to prepare for incapacity, consider the potential cost of long-term care, establish arrangements for a loved one with special needs, or determine who will manage financial and healthcare decisions if an older family member can no longer do so independently.

Staver & Anderson, P.C. provides estate planning, probate administration, and elder law services from its Taylor office. The firm's work includes wills, living trusts, powers of attorney, Medicaid and long-term-care planning, special-needs trusts, probate and trust administration, guardianships, conservatorships, and contested wills.

The firm has handled probate administration since 1986. Its attorneys also practice in healthcare, business, real estate, and other areas that can overlap with the legal concerns of individuals and families.

Choosing Between a Will and Living Trust

Staver & Anderson prepares wills and trusts for clients who want to establish how their property should be handled after death.

A will can provide instructions for distributing probate property and identify the people responsible for carrying out the estate plan. A living trust provides a different structure for holding and transferring assets.

Property appropriately placed in a living trust can generally be administered by a successor trustee under the trust's terms rather than through routine Probate Court administration. This can make trust planning particularly relevant for clients whose objectives include avoiding probate for property held by the trust.

The appropriate choice depends on the client's property, family circumstances, and planning objectives. Staver & Anderson works with both wills and trusts rather than treating either as the appropriate solution for every estate.

Preparing for Financial and Healthcare Decisions During Life

An estate plan can become important years before property passes to beneficiaries.

Staver & Anderson prepares powers of attorney and other documents addressing incapacity and lifetime decision-making. Its elder-law practice also includes patient advocate designations.

These arrangements allow clients to select people to handle important responsibilities if illness, injury, or declining capacity prevents them from acting personally.

Financial and healthcare decisions may require different forms of authority. Establishing that authority beforehand can give family members clearer direction about who has been selected to act and what responsibilities that person has.

For older clients in particular, these documents can also form part of broader planning involving long-term care and the possibility of future incapacity.

Planning Before Long-Term Care Becomes an Immediate Need

Staver & Anderson's elder-law practice includes planning for families concerned about nursing-home care, home care, and other long-term-care needs.

The firm advises clients concerning Medicare and Medicaid qualification and both long- and short-term care. This work can be coordinated with wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and other estate-planning arrangements.

Long-term-care planning can become especially important when an older adult wants to understand how future care needs may affect finances and existing estate plans. Addressing those concerns before care is urgently needed can provide an opportunity to consider available planning options while the individual can still participate directly in the decisions.

The firm's elder-law work also encompasses guardianships and conservatorships when advance planning is no longer sufficient and court-established authority becomes necessary.

Taking Responsibility for a Family Member's Estate

After a death, a personal representative may need to administer property through Michigan Probate Court.

Staver & Anderson has handled probate administration since 1986. The firm's services include administration of wills and estates as well as representation in contested will matters.

The person responsible for an estate may need to carry out the deceased person's instructions while complying with the legal requirements governing estate administration. That responsibility can be unfamiliar to someone serving in the role for the first time.

Staver & Anderson assists clients with the probate process rather than limiting its estate practice to documents prepared before death.

The firm also handles situations in which disagreements concerning a will complicate administration and require additional legal attention.

Taking Over as Successor Trustee

A trust can avoid routine probate administration for property properly held in the trust, but someone still needs to administer that property after the person who created the trust dies.

Staver & Anderson handles trust administration and advises successor trustees responsible for carrying out trust instructions.

Unlike a personal representative administering a probate estate under court supervision, a successor trustee may be able to administer and distribute trust property without Probate Court involvement when no separate issue requires intervention by the court.

The trustee nevertheless assumes responsibility for managing another person's property and following the terms of the trust.

For families using living trusts as part of an estate plan, the firm's services therefore extend beyond creating the trust to addressing the administration that follows after death.

Disagreements Over a Will

Not every estate proceeds according to plan.

Staver & Anderson includes contested wills among both its estate-planning and probate services. A dispute over a will can complicate an estate because questions about the document may need to be resolved before administration can be completed.

These matters are different from routine probate administration. Instead of simply carrying out an uncontested estate plan, the parties may disagree about the will or how the estate should proceed.

The firm's probate practice encompasses both ordinary administration and contested will matters, allowing it to represent clients when conflict becomes part of the probate process.

Guardianship or Conservatorship for a Loved One

Sometimes a family reaches a point where an older adult or another vulnerable person cannot adequately manage important affairs and advance planning does not provide the authority that is needed.

Staver & Anderson handles both guardianship and conservatorship petitions and administration.

A guardianship can establish authority concerning an individual's personal needs, while a conservatorship addresses management of property and financial affairs. Both involve court oversight and differ from authority voluntarily granted through advance planning documents such as powers of attorney.

The firm's elder-law practice includes helping families address these proceedings as well as advising people who are already serving in fiduciary roles.

This gives Staver & Anderson a role both before incapacity, through estate and power-of-attorney planning, and afterward if Probate Court involvement becomes necessary.

Estate Planning for Business Owners

A business interest can be both a source of income during life and an important part of the owner's estate.

Staver & Anderson's corporate and business practice includes succession planning. For a business owner, that creates an opportunity to consider what should happen to the company or ownership interest alongside the rest of the estate.

Succession planning may become relevant at retirement as well as after incapacity or death. The objective is to address continuity and future ownership rather than leaving the business interest disconnected from the owner's other planning.

The firm's combination of estate and business services can be useful when a closely held business is among the assets that need to be considered in a broader plan.

Estate and Elder Law Experience in Taylor

Peter J. Staver concentrates his practice in areas that include elder law, probate administration, estate planning, healthcare law, and business law. Before becoming an attorney, he worked as a registered nurse and nurse anesthetist, providing a healthcare background alongside his legal practice.

Bryan C. Anderson's work includes wills, trusts, and powers of attorney as well as probate, guardianships, and conservatorships. Kyle P. Murphy also includes estate planning among his practice areas.

The firm's estate practice therefore spans advance planning, elder-law concerns, post-death administration, and court proceedings involving people who need assistance managing personal or financial affairs.

Taylor Office & Michigan Client Service

Staver & Anderson is based in Taylor, Michigan and provides legal services to clients throughout the state. Its estate, probate, and elder-law practice serves individuals and families dealing with planning, incapacity, long-term care, estate administration, and related concerns.

Practice Areas

• Estate Planning

• Wills

• Living Trusts

• Trusts

• Powers of Attorney

• Patient Advocate Designations

• Elder Law

• Medicaid Planning and Qualification

• Long-Term-Care Planning

• Special-Needs Trusts

• Probate Administration

• Trust Administration

• Contested Wills

• Guardianships

• Conservatorships

• Business Succession Planning