Macomb County Wills

Wills

Your will is an important estate planning tool that allows you to address how your assets will be distributed upon your death. A will helps to ensure that your wishes will be upheld when the time comes, affords you the opportunity to address guardianship of your minor children, and is an excellent tool for backing up your overall estate planning efforts. Your will can play an important role in your financial legacy, which makes reaching out for the skilled legal guidance of an experienced Michigan estate planning attorney an important first step.

Choosing a Personal Representative

You can assign a personal representative in your Michigan will who will ensure that it proceeds through the probate process according to plan and ensure that your wishes are upheld throughout the process. The personal representative takes on considerable responsibility, which makes assigning the job to someone whom you trust paramount. If you fail to choose a personal representative, the court will do so for you.

The Probate Process

Your will must proceed through the probate process, but it directly guides how your assets will be distributed, which should be a reflection of your exact wishes as outlined in your will. Probate is a complex legal process, but having a well-constructed will can help streamline things for your loved ones while they face this difficult transition.

Minimizing Probate

It’s important to note that there are other estate planning tools that can help you keep as many of your assets as possible out of probate, including:

• A trust
• Financial tools that have beneficiary designations, including life insurance, retirement accounts, and stocks

Even if you’ve included all your assets that aren’t beneficiary based in a trust and have no minor children whose guardianship needs to be addressed, having a will is still a good idea. Whatever assets you acquire from the time your trust was last updated until the time of your death can linger in probate without a will to address whom you want to benefit from them.

Settling Your Debts and Liabilities

The debts and liabilities you have at the time of your death can also be addressed in your will, including matters like the following:

• Your outstanding bills and debts
• Your outstanding taxes
• Your funeral and burial costs
• The general administrative expenses related to probate

An Experienced Michigan Estate Planning Attorney Can Help

Your will is an important element of your estate plan, which guides your financial legacy and ensures that you continue to provide for your loved ones – according to your personal wishes. The well-established Michigan estate planning attorneys at Aiello & Associates have the legal insight and skill to help you create a will that expedites the probate process when the time comes and provides you with the peace of mind you’re looking for.

We’re on your side and here to help, so please don’t wait to contact us for more information today.