MCL 700.7821(3)(a) and (b) give two examples of when a release given to a trustee will not be valid. First, if its improperly induced by the trustee. Second, if the beneficiary didn’t know a material fact relating to a trustee’s breach of duty.

A 2014 unpublished opinion of the Court of Appeals provides a third example of an invalid release; In re Robert Stout Revocable Trust where the trustee told beneficiaries they’d get money coming to them, but only if they’d sign a release first. The trial court didn’t find this a problem, but the Court of Appeals reasoned MCL 700.7821 (referenced earlier) already required the trustee to expeditiously distribute trust property. Therefore, conditioning payment on release was a breach of fiduciary duty itself.

 What if there was an allegation of error related to the proposed distribution? Would this justify a mandatory release? What if the trustee offered a release for payment but, if not, then the trustee would seek instruction from the court (which could tie up funds for years and come at great expense to the trust and its beneficiaries)? These questions don’t appear to be answered, yet. Going forward, trustees would be well advised to seek experienced counsel before seeking a release.

Obviously, you can’t be replaced–but your income can.

If you have young children, there’s a good chance you also have things like student loans, a mortgage, maybe a car payment, and even a credit card. On top of that, I know it’s hard to plan for your own demise. The good news is that about $20 per month can get a healthy 30-year-old female $500,000 in life insurance. (Men, at any age, have to pay a little more.)

Applying this life insurance to a trust you create in your will can make sure your children are taken care of, even if they lose you.

I can feel your skepticism already: ‘Ryan, getting life insurance is easy, I don’t need a lawyer.’

That’s true. However, dumping a bunch of money on someone and hoping your children are cared for is a bad plan (even if you give it to your parents…I’ll go into this in another post).

There are more benefits of a trust by will than I need to get into here. But you should have the key points: 1) you get to set the terms for the use of the money; 2) nobody else owns the money–it can only be used for your children; 3) there’s no probate court involvement in your trust; and 4) the cost is so low it can fit into any budget.

Your needs could be different. Call me at (517) 796-3907 and we’ll set up a time to talk about what estate planning needs you have.

In my humble opinion, if you can’t state the reason for wanting to set up a trust in a sentence, you have to question why you want one. Here are some examples I came up with off the top of my head:

• I have a family business and I need to plan for succession;
• I want to provide for a child with long-term instability (financial, alcohol, or drug related);
• I don’t want a family farm to be sold and divided;
• I don’t want a family cottage to be sold and divided;
• I want to avoid estate taxes (few people have this problem);
• I want to shield my assets from potential creditors (there are new rules which took effect March 8, 2017); or
• I want to provide for a child with a disability or special needs.

There are other good reasons to be sure. If you have questions about whether a trust is for you, or your estate plan in general, call me at (517) 796-3907 and we’ll set up a time to talk.

You can probably guess the rules: it’s all in probate court, some (not a whole lot of) money and property may be set aside if you have a spouse and children (more if you have minor children), and the rest is available to creditors if you have any. Your family keeps whatever is left if creditors get paid. If you don’t have family, the State of Michigan could get it (but that’s rare).

To be clear, Michigan’s plan works for many people but if you want to

• Avoid estate taxes (most people don’t have to worry about this);
• Provide for succession in a family business;
• Avoid probate proceedings;
• Provide for a disabled or special needs child;
• Protect assets from creditors;
• Appoint a guardian for your minor children;
• Make charitable donations;
• Make conditional gifts, i.e., $10,000 if my son finishes his master’s degree;
• Appoint a funeral representative to carry out your final wishes;
• Specify who gets family heirlooms;
• Make plans to keep family farms or cottages in tact; or
• Give specific gifts to friends or family then

you  need to make a plan which probably includes—at least—a will.

Call me at (517) 796-3907 to set up a time to talk about your plan.

What could I do for the child? The child couldn’t afford to contest the suspicious will.

In Michigan there is an Exempt Property Allowance. MCL 700.2404. This lets a child to inherit despite a will purposefully cutting a child out. (Remember, a child can be an adult –child is a term of relationship, not age: you’ll always be your parent’s child.)  It was previously thought that a Will could exclude a child but the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled in October 2015 that the Allowance won’t let children be excluded (at least from exempt property). See the Court’s full opinion here.

Because the Exempt Property Allowance is now well over $20,000, my client, the Child, was able to inherit from Dad without any litigation when this fact was pointed out to opposing counsel.

What problem brought you here? Call or text now so you can get the same expert as help as the client got in this difficult situation.

I admit this fill-in-the-blank trust could have worked for the man. If what was on the forms already fit his needs, if he prepared a deed for his home, and if he transferred all of his other assets, it could have worked. (Even had all of this necessary service been included, I suspect he still paid too much for what he got.)

My point is this: steer clear of  fill-in-the blank estate planning documents.

I know you can download any form you want for .99¢ from legalcheap.com (I made that website up, don’t look for it) but what you save up front can and will come back to cost you in the end.  Legalcheap.com (again, made up) can’t provide you with experience, expertise, or personalized guidance.

I admit, I don’t draft every will or power-of-attorney I prepare from scratch; I use a template. That template serves as a foundation for good drafting. With input from my client, that template is modified and crafted to create a tool for my client that is uniquely suited to the client’s needs. Something a form simply can’t match.

If you or a loved one have fill-in-the-blank estate planning documents, have them reviewed to make sure they are 1) functional 2) meet current needs and 3) still make sensible allocations for the future.