The Law Offices of David C. Brunell | The Proactive Attorney

Estate Planning & Probate Attorney in Livonia, Michigan

The Law Offices of David C. Brunell is an estate-focused practice with offices in Livonia and Bloomfield Hills. Brunell's work centers on estate planning, trusts, probate, and preparing families for the legal and practical problems that can arise after incapacity or death.

Brunell has practiced for more than 33 years and emphasizes proactive planning rather than waiting until a family is dealing with a crisis. His estate work includes wills, trusts, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and planning intended to reduce unnecessary probate complications. He also addresses particular situations such as planning after divorce, providing for a dependent with special needs, and preparing legal documents for college-age children.

Your Child Turned 18—Can You Still Make Decisions in an Emergency?

Parents may continue paying tuition, providing health insurance, and supporting a son or daughter through college, but reaching adulthood changes the parent's legal relationship with the child.

That distinction can become important during an unexpected illness or accident. Parents who have always handled important matters for their child should not assume that they automatically retain the same authority once the child is an adult.

Brunell specifically addresses planning for college-age children as part of his estate practice. Appropriate powers of attorney and healthcare documents can allow a young adult to decide in advance who should have authority to assist with designated financial or medical matters if the need arises.

For families sending a child to college or otherwise watching a young adult become more independent, this can be a useful extension of estate planning beyond documents created only for the parents.

Starting Over After a Divorce May Mean Revisiting Your Estate Plan

Divorce changes family and financial circumstances, but an estate plan may still reflect decisions made during the marriage.

Brunell specifically identifies post-divorce planning as one of the situations his practice addresses. Reviewing existing arrangements after a divorce provides an opportunity to determine whether estate documents and other instructions continue to reflect what the client now wants.

The practical concern is straightforward: major changes in family relationships can make an older plan a poor reflection of someone's current intentions. Rather than assuming everything was addressed through the divorce itself, estate planning can be reconsidered as part of establishing the person's affairs for the next stage of life.

When a Family Member With Special Needs Depends on You

A parent or other caregiver responsible for someone with special needs may have concerns extending well beyond deciding who receives property.

The family may need to think about what happens when the person currently providing financial and personal support is no longer available. An estate plan can establish instructions for property intended to benefit a dependent rather than leaving those questions unanswered.

Brunell includes planning for families with special-needs dependents among the circumstances his practice addresses. His available material does not provide enough detail to attribute particular Medicaid strategies or specialized trust techniques to the firm, so the appropriate planning structure depends on the family's individual circumstances.

A Will Is Only One Part of Getting Your Affairs in Order

Families sometimes think of estate planning as a single task: prepare a will, sign it, and put it away. Brunell takes a broader approach focused on organizing the legal and practical arrangements that other people may eventually need to understand.

His planning process addresses wills, trusts, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and other decisions that can become important following incapacity or death.

For a family, the practical question is whether the people who eventually have to act will know what arrangements exist and have the legal authority necessary to carry them out. Planning beforehand can address those responsibilities while the client is still able to make the decisions personally.

Who Can Step In If You Become Incapacitated?

An estate plan may eventually determine what happens after death, but family members can encounter difficult legal questions while someone is still alive.

An accident or serious illness can leave another person needing to handle financial matters or participate in healthcare decisions. Brunell prepares powers of attorney and healthcare directives that allow clients to designate trusted people for these responsibilities.

Addressing incapacity in advance gives clients an opportunity to decide who should act rather than leaving family members to determine what options remain after the person can no longer make or communicate those decisions independently.

When Avoiding Probate Is Part of the Plan

Probate can create responsibilities for surviving family members when property remains subject to administration through the court after a death.

Brunell incorporates probate avoidance into his estate-planning work through wills, trusts, and related planning. Whether a particular asset ultimately requires probate depends on how the property is owned and arranged to transfer, so avoiding probate involves more than simply having estate documents.

For families, the objective may be to make the eventual transfer of property more organized and reduce the amount of court administration required after death. The appropriate structure depends on the client's assets and circumstances rather than assuming every family needs the same plan.

When the Family Still Has to Deal With Probate

Even with advance planning, circumstances may leave property that must be administered through probate.

Brunell handles probate matters in addition to preparing estate plans. This allows his practice to assist families on both sides of the process: establishing arrangements while a client is alive and addressing the legal work required when an estate must actually be administered after death.

For the person responsible for handling a loved one's affairs, the immediate challenge may simply be understanding what has to happen next. Probate representation can provide guidance through that process when court administration is necessary.

A Proactive Approach to Estate Planning

Brunell describes his planning process as a 10-Step Exit Plan, reflecting an emphasis on organizing affairs before a family is confronted with death or incapacity.

The underlying goal extends beyond preparing individual documents. Families may need to consider who can make decisions during incapacity, how property should pass, whether probate can be reduced, and whether particular circumstances—such as divorce, an adult child leaving for college, or a dependent with special needs—require additional attention.

This proactive-planning emphasis is a defining feature of Brunell's estate practice and distinguishes it from an approach focused solely on preparing a will in response to an immediate need.

Offices in Livonia & Bloomfield Hills

The Law Offices of David C. Brunell maintains offices on Six Mile Road in Livonia and West Square Lake Road in Bloomfield Hills. Brunell provides estate-planning, trust, and probate services to individuals and families throughout Southeast Michigan.

His practice can address conventional estate-planning needs as well as particular life transitions that may prompt someone to reconsider existing arrangements, including divorce, a child reaching adulthood, and responsibility for a family member with special needs.

Practice Areas

• Estate Planning

• Wills

• Trusts

• Powers of Attorney

• Healthcare Directives

• Incapacity Planning

• Probate

• Probate Avoidance Planning

• Post-Divorce Estate Planning

• Estate Planning for College-Age Children

• Planning for Special-Needs Dependents