Probate

Estate Planning

Your estate is comprised of everything you own— your car, home, bank accounts, investments, life insurance, furniture, favorite mug, the stack of magazines you haven’t recycled yet, and personal possessions.

Estate Planning is the process of deciding what YOU want to happen to all that stuff when you pass away. The law in Michigan sets out default rules that the Probate Court uses. If you do not have a will, your Estate still gets divided up. A Will or Trust lets you rewrite the rules (within reason). Stoltman Law can help guide you through the options available. Estate Plans are important for everyone, young and old, married, divorced, widowed, or single people.

Estate Planning is not an easy process. For many, it is not a fun process. At Stoltman Law, we want to make it as simple, painless, and cost-effective as possible. In addition to drafting a will, trust, and medical and financial powers of attorney, Stoltman Law is available to update and modify your plan to ensure it reflects changes in the law and your circumstances.

Appointment as a Third Party Guardian, Personal Representative, or Mediator.

Stoltman Law can also serve as a third party, neutral personal representative, guardian, conservator, or mediator. Picking a third party guardian can take the stress off of family members and allows for the experience to drive, while emotion stays in the backseat. As the middle out of 5 children, Attorney Stoltman knows how hard it can be to come to an agreement. Listening to all sides and respecting the viewpoint of opposing interests sometimes requires someone from outside. Before you drag the issue before a Judge and the public, consider how a $200 can buy your family a two-hour session of guided, private, mediation to try and resolve the matter.

Guardianship, Conservatorship, Trust, and Deceased Estate Administration

When taking on the monumental task of serving as a fiduciary you may need a helping hand. Stoltman Law can assist you with the forms, services, and options available in carrying out your duty. If you have a solid handle on things but need assistance in one specific area, contact our office to inquire about unbundled services. Stoltman Law will step in and help get a file back in order for accountings after the Probate Court serves a notice of deficiency or motion to show cause. Attorney Benjamin Stoltman will work with you to check that everything is done correctly to close out an estate. Also, Stoltman Law drafts, establishes, or amends Special Needs Trusts to protect loved one’s publicly available benefits. Above all, Stoltman Law walks you through the process to make sure you do not get lost or left behind.

Did you know…

The Nobel Prizes in physics, chemistry, peace, medicine, and literature, was established by Alfred Nobel’s will? And that before the organization established to administer the prizes was set up, the attorneys had to fight about what county Mr. Nobel’s estate belonged to?

Attorney Stoltman knows that, because he is a probate nerd.