Wheeler Upham Attorneys and Counselors

Estate Planning, Elder Law & Probate Attorneys in Grand Rapids, Michigan

Wheeler Upham, P.C. helps Grand Rapids and West Michigan families prepare estate plans, plan for incapacity and long-term-care needs, and handle probate matters after a death. Its estate practice includes wills and trusts, powers of attorney, special-needs planning, elder law, Medicaid planning, guardianships and conservatorships, business succession and probate administration.

The firm's work addresses families at very different stages of life. Young parents may need to decide who would care for their children. Someone entering a second marriage may need to balance the financial security of a new spouse with an inheritance intended for children from an earlier relationship. Older clients may be concerned about long-term care or protecting a family member with special needs.

Wheeler Upham also handles contested probate proceedings when relatives disagree about who should control estate or trust property or who should ultimately receive it.

If Something Happens to Both Parents, Who Takes Care of the Children?

For parents with young children, one of the most important parts of estate planning has little to do with the size of their estate.

Wheeler Upham prepares wills that can designate the people parents want to serve as guardians for minor children. The firm also uses testamentary trusts and other estate-planning arrangements to address how property should be managed for children and other beneficiaries.

That allows parents to consider two separate questions: who should raise the children and who should be responsible for managing the money or property left for them.

Planning for those possibilities while both parents are able to make the decisions can provide a much clearer framework for the people who would have to step in after an unexpected death.

Planning for Incapacity While You Can Still Choose Who Will Help

An estate plan also needs to address the possibility that someone will be alive but unable to manage important decisions independently.

Wheeler Upham prepares durable powers of attorney and patient advocate designations. These documents can establish who should handle financial matters and who should have authority involving healthcare when the individual cannot act personally.

The firm also assists with funeral representative designations, allowing clients to identify who should have responsibility for decisions concerning funeral arrangements and disposition after death.

These choices can reduce uncertainty for relatives by identifying in advance who should have authority rather than leaving family members to determine responsibilities during a crisis.

Dad Remarries — How Does He Provide for His Wife and His Children?

Second marriages can make estate planning considerably more complicated, particularly when either spouse has children from an earlier relationship.

Wheeler Upham specifically works with second marriages and blended families. A parent may want to provide financial security for a new spouse while also making sure property eventually reaches children from the first marriage.

Those objectives may require coordinating wills and trusts with retirement accounts, life insurance, real estate and other property. 

The appropriate plan can depend on what each spouse owns, what each person wants the other to receive and what should ultimately pass to children or other relatives.

The firm's blended-family planning recognizes that fairness does not necessarily require every person to receive identical property in an identical way. The larger objective is creating a plan that reflects the relationships and responsibilities within the particular family.

When a Child With Special Needs Will Receive an Inheritance

An inheritance intended to help a family member with special needs can create problems if it is transferred without considering benefits that person already receives.

Wheeler Upham prepares special-needs trusts designed to provide supplemental resources while taking government-benefit eligibility into consideration. Instead of simply transferring property directly to the beneficiary, assets can be held and managed through a trust.

For parents, the concern may be long term. They may have spent years helping a son or daughter with financial, housing or other needs and want a structure that can continue providing support when they are no longer available.

The firm also handles ABLE accounts as part of its elder-law and special-needs work, giving families another planning consideration when providing resources for a person with a disability.

When an Inheritance Needs More Structure

Not every beneficiary is prepared to manage an inheritance responsibly.

Wheeler Upham uses spendthrift trusts when appropriate for beneficiaries who may have difficulty managing inherited property. Rather than requiring the entire inheritance to be transferred outright, a trust can establish how assets will be managed and distributed.

That can matter when parents are concerned about how a son, daughter or other beneficiary would handle a significant amount of money without additional structure.

Trust planning allows those concerns to be addressed when the estate plan is created rather than leaving the family to deal with the consequences after the inheritance has already been distributed.

When Mom or Dad Can No Longer Manage Independently

Advance planning can establish who should assist during incapacity, but some families ultimately need court involvement.

Wheeler Upham handles guardianships and conservatorships involving minors, incapacitated adults and people with developmental disabilities. A guardianship generally concerns responsibility for personal decisions, while a conservatorship involves management of finances and property.

For an adult child, the issue may arise when an aging parent's condition has progressed to the point where bills, property or personal decisions can no longer be handled safely without assistance.

These proceedings establish legal authority and responsibilities for the person appointed to act on behalf of the individual who needs help.

When Long-Term Care Becomes a Financial Concern

Wheeler Upham has a dedicated elder-law practice addressing the legal and financial problems that can accompany aging and disability.

The firm's work includes long-term-care and Medicaid planning, assisted-living and nursing-home issues, Medicaid and Medicare benefits and appeals, Social Security and SSDI, and asset-protection planning.

For families, these concerns can emerge gradually or arrive after a sudden change in health. A parent may begin needing more assistance at home before eventually considering assisted living or nursing-home care. At the same time, the family may be trying to understand what benefits are available and how the cost of care will affect existing resources.

Planning can help families consider those issues alongside the older person's estate plan, property and future care needs.

When You Suspect an Older Family Member Is Being Financially Exploited

Declining health can make an older adult increasingly dependent on relatives, caregivers or other people for assistance with finances.

Wheeler Upham's elder-law practice includes matters involving elder abuse and financial exploitation. Concerns may arise when family members notice unusual financial activity or become worried about how someone with access to an older person's money or property is using that authority.

These situations can involve more than protecting a future inheritance. Financial exploitation can threaten the older person's own ability to pay for housing, healthcare and other needs during life.

Legal intervention may become necessary when a vulnerable person's property or financial security is at risk.

One Child Wants the Family Business and the Others Don't

A family business can create estate-planning problems that cannot be solved simply by dividing everything equally among the children.

Wheeler Upham works with family businesses on succession planning, including situations where a significant portion of the family's wealth is tied to the company. The family may need to determine who will eventually own the business as well as who is actually prepared to run it.

Children may have very different relationships with the company. One may have spent years working alongside a parent, another may want only an ownership interest, and another may have no interest in the business at all.

Succession planning allows those differences to be considered alongside the owner's broader estate rather than leaving the children to determine the company's future after the founder dies or retires.

When You Become Responsible for Settling a Parent's Estate

Serving as personal representative requires more than distributing property to relatives.

Wheeler Upham assists with probate administration, including identifying, inventorying, preserving and valuing estate assets. Administration also involves addressing debts, taxes and expenses before remaining property can be distributed.

The firm also considers financial needs that can arise while probate remains open, including immediate family needs, anticipated expenses, taxes and personal-representative fees.

For a family member serving as personal representative for the first time, these responsibilities can be unfamiliar and may continue for a significant period after the death.

When Family Members Cannot Agree About the Estate

Some probate matters become disputes over the fundamental questions of who should control property and who should receive it.

Wheeler Upham handles contested probate proceedings, including will contests and trust disputes. These matters can arise when relatives disagree about the validity or interpretation of estate-planning documents or how estate or trust property should be handled.

A dispute can also place the person administering the property in conflict with one or more beneficiaries, making ordinary administration considerably more difficult.

When disagreements cannot be resolved informally, the firm's probate practice extends to representing clients through the contested proceeding.

A Grand Rapids Firm Serving West Michigan

Wheeler Upham is located at 250 Monroe Avenue NW, Suite 100, in downtown Grand Rapids, in the Calder Plaza Building near the Kent County and Grand Rapids government buildings. The firm's roots in Grand Rapids date to 1883.

The firm describes itself as locally based in West Michigan. Its broader practice includes business, real-estate, litigation and other legal services in addition to estate planning and elder law.

For estate clients, that practice can address problems across 

generations—from parents choosing guardians for young children and blended families trying to balance competing needs to older adults confronting long-term care, business owners preparing for succession and relatives responsible for administering or contesting an estate after death.

Practice Areas

• Estate Planning

• Wills & Trusts

• Elder Law & Medicaid Planning

• Special Needs Planning

• Guardianships & Conservatorships

• Family Business Succession

• Probate Administration

• Contested Probate Proceedings