If you or a loved one need a will, living will, health care power of attorney, or help probating an estate in Grand Rapids Michigan, it is important to contact a Grand Rapids Probate attorney. The estate planning attorneys at Krupp Law Offices P.C. can answer your questions about wills, living wills, and other probate and estate planning needs. Estate planning is done on a flat fee or hourly basis depending on the work that needs to be done. Call us now for a free phone consultation and speak with a Grand Rapids probate attorney that can explain the Michigan Probate Code.
A will is a document which states a person's intentions after their death. It will typically contains a number of provisions which include distribution property, payment of debts, the name of a personal representative, the name of a guardian for minor children, the name of a conservator for minor children, and the type of probate (supervised or unsupervised). Michigan residents have the ability to use the Michigan statutory will. The statutory will is intended to make the preparation of a will less expensive. Typically, an attorney will charge between 300 and 500 dollars to prepare a will.
An attorney can advise you about joint ownership issues and possible tax consequences. If a person dies without having prepared a will, than a person's assets will be distributed to his beneficiaries pursuant to the intestate probate code. The probate code provides for distribution of a person=s estate based on how close in affinity his relatives are to him (wife, children, grandchildren, brothers and sisters, and then the parents of the deceased). A probate court judge supervises the payment of bills and distribution property to assure that the distribution by the personal representative is pursuant to the will or the intestate statute. Every Michigan probate court will keep a person's will in the court's vault for small fee. This is called safekeeping. It is done by giving your original will to the probate court clerk. If you want to change your will, you can go to probate court and remove your will from the court's safekeeping (you must show proper picture ID). In contrast to other states, Michigan has a simple probate process. Typically, the relative of the deceased opens an estate. If there is a will, than it is filed with probate court. In addition, upon the opening of an estate, the court will check its vault for a will on file. At this point, it is determine whether the estate will be probated as a supervised estate or an unsupervised estate. If an estate is supervised, than the court must approve each every transaction made by the personal representative. If the estate is unsupervised, than the personal representative can pay bills and provide distribution of assets without the court supervising each transaction made by the personal representative. As you can imagine, supervised probate can be more expensive and more difficult to complete.
A person should use the assistance of attorney due to the sometimes complex preparation of a will or the probating of an estate. Typically the cost of an attorney is nominal compared to the size of the estate. If there's a dispute as to the distribution property, than an attorney is necessary to ensure proper procedures are used to distribute the property and pay the decedent's bills. Preparation of a basic will, living will, and health care power of attorney can be as low as 400.00 dollars.
Probating estates are usually handled by an hourly fee and fees can be as little as 1,000 dollars which is paid from the estate.
Krupp Law Offices P.C. represents clients in preparing wills and trusts and administering estates throughout West Michigan, including the cities of Grand Rapids, Holland, and Grand Haven, and the counties of Kent, Ottawa, Allegan, Barry, Newaygo, Montcalm, and Ionia.