 Contemplating the time when you will no longer be here is not pleasant for anyone. Unfortunately, avoiding the inevitable also leads you and your loved ones into a tight spot later on. Probate is one of the things you should take the time now to educate yourself on. If someone has not written a Living Trust during their lifetime or taken other steps to avoid probate, then when they pass away the probate process begins to take place. While its necessity and rules vary in other states, this legal process is required for Michigan estates. It starts with an interested party to the estate, usually the personal representative, filing papers in the local probate court and is followed by many of the items on this list:
A personal representative is someone appointed by the court to control or manage property that belongs only to the decedent. An attorney should help you prepare the necessary documents to open an estate and request appointment as the personal representative. The personal representative is responsible for carrying out the duties and responsibilities as stated in the will or in the law if there is no will. The court will appoint a personal representative from the following list of people, in order starting from the top:
All of this is can be very routine and clerical; however, probate can be expensive. It can be a very lengthy process and can keep property tied up for sometimes up to a year. For Michigan residents who are required to go through it, a good way to reduce some of those expenses is by giving away property or finding another way to reduce the amount of property going through probate. McCleary & Associates, P.C. has helped thousands of people over the years to prepare their estates for probate and make it as informal and straightforward as possible. This experience is particularly useful in the rare occasions where a will is challenged or presumed lost. Reduce any worry of being unprepared by visiting mcclearylaw.com or calling me at (810) 516-5116 Author - David McClearyDivorce, Probate, Elder and Estate Planning Lawyer
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There is not one correct age to begin considering estate planning. Individuals of all ages and those experiencing a wide range of life stages can benefit from engaging in estate planning. The process of estate planning includes wills, power of attorney, and a medical power of attorney. A financially unstable young adult can begin laying a foundation that they’ll later build up as they gain assets and financial responsibilities. For example, a top priority for someone who recently turned 18 is to name an agent under a medical durable power of attorney so parents can take part of their health care. This is also the age when most individuals obtain their first full-time job which may include benefits like life insurance coverage or a 401(k) plan that they will need to name beneficiaries on. Estate planning encompasses more than assets one has but also debts. Considering the student loans many young adults incur for college is essential in case the unimaginable happens since that debt could tragically become a loved one’s responsibility if they have co signed for any loan. As a person ages, the things they need to consider changes. New parents will have different estate planning needs than parents of high-school aged children or a middle-aged married couple without children. This is why there’s no correct age to start thinking about estate planning. There is no one-size-fits-all estate planning solution because not only will everyone have different needs but each individual’s needs will evolve as they progress through their life.  McCleary & Associates, P.C. has over 30 years of estate planning experience and is accepting new clients of all ages who are ready to begin the estate planning process. For more information about McCleary & Associates. P.C. please visit our website at mcclearylaw.com or contact me at (810) 516-5116. Author - David McClearyDivorce, Probate, Elder and Estate Planning Lawyer For More Information Before your initial consultation with me, I will ask that you complete a questionnaire and bring several documents with you to your appointment, like prior estate planning documents and financial statements, so that I may better get to know you and understand your needs. I assure confidentiality and welcome any questions you may have about necessary documentation. The information I request on my client questionnaire guides me as I make my legal recommendations and follow through with them for you. Below are a few examples of information I request from you and how I use that information for your benefit. 
The attorneys and staff of McCleary & Associates, P.C. take your privacy very seriously and will never disclose your information to third parties without your prior consent. For more information about McCleary & Associates. P.C. please visit our website at mcclearylaw.com or contact me at (810) 516-5116. Author - David McClearyDivorce, Probate, Elder and Estate Planning Lawyer Our own mortality is a very difficult reality for many to face, but there are steps we can take to protect our family and finances before and after we pass away. Estate planning is how these steps are taken, but there are multiple paths one can take. Lawyers that practice estate planning help their clients find the path that will best suit their individual needs. Wills, probates, trusts, medical directives (durable power of attorney for health care, DPOAHC) and powers of attorney are some of the main tools utilized in this process. A Will provides the instructions on what assets will be distributed to who once an individual passes away, but these assets must individually go through a probate process before they can be allocated to the heir(s). The courts control the probate process, which is why it can be so expensive and time consuming. Therefore, many individuals and families prefer a living trust. Trusts can do the same thing as wills, but they completely avoid probate at death and prevent the courts from controlling an individual’s assets if disability occurs. However, it is still recommended to have a will in addition to a trust to “catch” any assets that were not properly funded into the trust.  Medical directives (DPOAHC) and a power of attorney are essential in estate planning because they allow for medical and financial decisions to be made on an individual’s behalf if they ever become incapacitated, or otherwise unable to make those decisions for themselves. Many people consider the durable power of attorney (POA) as the most important tool in estate planning because it allows an appointed individual to act in place of the appointer if they find themselves unable. When setting up a POA one needs to make sure that their financial firms and their lawyer are on the same page with the appointee being an accepted POA. Medical directives are the same concept as POA, but they are for medical decisions instead of financial.  Understanding the basics of wills, probates, trusts, medical directives and powers of attorney provides a rough sketch of what makes up estate planning. However, there are many variables to consider regarding what estate plan will best fit an individual and the family they wish to protect. David McCleary, a lawyer in Grand Blanc, Michigan, explains, “Every individual and every family faces unique circumstances regarding wills and trusts. For some people, a simple will is enough to properly address their needs; others will require a more comprehensive strategy.” He emphasizes that one thing everyone must do is come up with their overall goals. Doing so helps hone in on the tools needed to build the best estate plan for each individual. David has been working with clients throughout Genesee County for over 25 years and can be reached at (810)
516-5116. Author - Megan CarryGuest Blogger for McCleary & Associates P.C. For More Information7 Big Estate Planning Mistakes
When negotiating with a narcissist, you are definitely going to need leverage. It’s important to keep in mind that narcissists will always have a plan. That plan will always be to take you down, to smear you, and to make you miserable. They gain what we call “narcissistic supply” from doing this. Narcissistic supply is anything that feeds a narcissist’s ego. It can be things that are generally recognized that feed people’s egos such as money, compliments and prestige. But they also get supply from more dark and sinister actions such as invoking fear, using intimidation tactics or in short, jerking people around. If leverage is not a part of your overall strategy, you will be sunk. You will constantly feel like you are having to defend yourself. Without leverage, you will feel like the narcissist is always winning, and worse, that you are always losing. You need leverage to have even a chance at being on the offensive rather than the defensive.
Regardless of the situation – whether it’s a divorce, custody battle, or business setting – leverage is the one thing that you are absolutely going to need in order to gain an advantage over the narcissist you are dealing with.
Tips on Negotiating with a Narcissist As a divorce attorney, nearly every person that I have worked with has said that they do not want to fight. Of course, no reasonable person actually wants to fight. Fighting means spending money on attorney’s fees and spending energy best exerted elsewhere. Fighting means more heartbreak, not moving on, and getting stuck in the toxic relationship even long after you decided you wanted out. Reasonable people want to come up with an agreement in a mutually respectful way and settle for what’s fair, equitable, and just. Narcissists are not reasonable people. Narcissists want to fight. For narcissists, fighting means getting supply from you by dragging you through the dirt. As counter-intuitive as it may seem, you need leverage if you truly do not want to fight. You’ll probably need to use leverage just to get on an equal playing field with the narcissist because of the smearing and devaluing they have already done. It’s important to remember that one of the ways that narcissists get narcissistic supply is through devaluing. In negotiation, getting narcissistic supply from you is actually winning for the narcissist. For reasonable people, winning is usually just getting what’s fair. If you want to get back at the narcissist and take control of the negotiation, then building leverage is the key to doing that. For those of you that have been traumatized by a narcissist, you have probably been told you’re selfish, that there’s something wrong with you, or that you don’t deserve anything.You might have even begun to see yourself in the same light. If this is you, you might be thinking to yourself: “I don’t want to fight” “Where am I going with this?” “What do I even want?” “Is it even worth it? “There’s no way I could win.” “I just want to be done.” I am here to tell you that above all else, you deserve to have a fair result. You deserve everything that you are entitled to under the law. You quite possibly deserve more than that for all of the pain and suffering you’ve endured. So, start telling yourself these things. Start gathering leverage so that you can begin to unlearn all of the things the narcissist has taught you and start anew. What is Leverage? Leverage is the thing that’s going to motivate and incentivize the narcissist to come to the negotiation table with you. Leverage can be in the form of all different kinds of things. It could be the secrets that they have, the secrets that others have, evidence of their crimes, or evidence of their lies. Leverage isn’t just one thing. To truly defeat a narcissist, it is best to have lots of different kinds of leverage. Leverage is used as a way to ethically manipulate the manipulator into getting what you want and what you deserve. How to Get Leverage When Negotiating with a Narcissist? When gathering leverage, you are going to want to look at all of the things that they get narcissistic supply from. Once you know what their forms of supply are, you will know what exactly it is that they are going to go any lengths to get and/or to keep. If the narcissist gets their supply from money, the fancy car, or fancy house – anything that jeopardizes their access to this will be a part of your leverage. If the narcissist gets their supply from devaluing you, anything that jeopardizes their ability to do this will be a part of your leverage. In a court setting, narcissists often get their supply from ignoring court orders and refusing to give discovery. So, anything that might interfere with them doing this, will be your supply. Figuring out what source of supply you could potentially threaten to take away from them will be a key component in gaining leverage and thus winning any negotiation with a narcissist. Gaining leverage when negotiating with a narcissist is the only way to come out unscathed and actually get what you want. Author - Rebecca Zung, Esq.https://www.divorcemag.com/blog/get-leverage-when-negotiating-with-a-narcissist For More Information7 Big Estate Planning Mistakes
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