Estate planning

Who we help

• Parents of minor children who want to name a guardian
• Adults caring for an aging parent who need authority to help with money or medical care
• Anyone who wants to choose who makes medical or financial decisions for them
• Homeowners and people with savings, retirement accounts, or life insurance
• Immigrant families who want a plan in case a parent is detained or deported

Protect the People You Love and the Life You’ve Built

Estate planning is not only for the wealthy.

It is about deciding who should make decisions for you if you cannot make them yourself, protecting your children and loved ones, determining how your property should be handled, and giving your family clear instructions during difficult circumstances.

Masri Legal Group works with individuals and families to create estate plans designed around their lives, goals, and priorities.

Estate planning services

We can assist with:

• Wills
• Revocable living trusts
• Powers of attorney
• Patient advocate and health-care documents
• Guardianship planning for minor children
• Beneficiary and asset-planning considerations
• Estate-plan reviews and updates

Planning for parents

Parents of minor children have particularly important decisions to make.

An estate plan can address who you would want to care for your children, how assets intended for them should be managed, and who should make important financial or medical decisions if you become unable to do so.

The core documents

• Will: names who receives your property and who manages your estate, and can nominate a guardian for minor children
• Trust: holds property for your beneficiaries and can let it pass without probate
• Durable power of attorney: names someone to handle your finances if you cannot
• Patient advocate designation: Michigan’s document for naming someone to make health care decisions for you
• Beneficiary designations: forms for life insurance and retirement accounts, which pass outside your will

Probate in Michigan

When someone dies owning property in their own name alone, the county probate court usually supervises how it is collected and distributed. Smaller estates may qualify for simpler procedures.

Property held in a trust, owned jointly, or passing by beneficiary designation generally does not go through probate.

Guardians for children

A parent can nominate a guardian for minor children in a will. If both parents die or cannot care for the children, the probate court appoints a guardian and gives weight to the parent’s choice.

Naming someone in writing, and talking to them first, makes that decision much easier for the family and the court.

Planning for children if a parent is detained or deported

Michigan law lets a parent sign a power of attorney that gives another adult authority to care for a child, such as enrolling them in school and consenting to medical care, for up to six months at a time.

It does not give up custody, and the parent can cancel it.

A will can also nominate a guardian for your children. Keep copies of these documents, your children’s birth certificates, and their passports where a trusted person can find them.

Your plan should change when your life changes

Marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, the purchase of property, changes in finances, and other major life events are all good reasons to review an existing estate plan.

Property in more than one country

A Michigan will may not control property located in another country, which may have its own inheritance rules. If you own a home or land abroad, bring the details so the plan can account for it or so you can be referred to someone who handles that country’s law.