Benzie County, MI Estate Lawyers

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Brian L. Johnson

Estate, Estate Planning, Wills & Probate, Trusts, Real Estate
Status:  In Good Standing           Licensed:  28 Years

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John B. Daugherty

Real Estate, Estate Planning, Child Custody, Criminal
Status:  In Good Standing           

Lawrence I. Mckay

Real Estate, Estate Planning, Estate
Status:  In Good Standing           Licensed:  50 Years

Catherine L. Wolfe

Divorce & Family Law, Estate Planning, Real Estate
Status:  In Good Standing           

John E. Baker

Estate Planning, Gift Taxation, Family Law, Real Estate
Status:  In Good Standing           Licensed:  44 Years

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Free Help: Use This Form or Call 800-943-8690

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800-943-8690

Free Help: Use This Form or Call 800-943-8690

By submitting this lawyer request, I confirm I have read and agree to the Consent to Receive Messages from all messaging and voice technologies including Email, Text, Phone, Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy. Information provided is not privileged or confidential.

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LEGAL TERMS

ALTERNATE BENEFICIARY

A person, organization or institution that receives property through a will, trust or insurance policy when the first named beneficiary is unable or refuses to ... (more...)
A person, organization or institution that receives property through a will, trust or insurance policy when the first named beneficiary is unable or refuses to take the property. For example, in his will Jake leaves his collection of sheet music to his daughter, Mia, and names the local symphony as alternate beneficiary. When Jake dies, Mia decides that the symphony can make better use of the sheet music than she can, so she refuses (disclaims) the gift, and the manuscripts pass directly to the symphony. In insurance law, the alternate beneficiary, usually the person who receives the insurance proceeds because the initial or primary beneficiary has died, is called the secondary or contingent beneficiary.

FAILURE OF ISSUE

A situation in which a person dies without children who could have inherited her property.

RULE AGAINST PERPETUITIES

An exceedingly complex legal doctrine that limits the amount of time that property can be controlled after death by a person's instructions in a will. For examp... (more...)
An exceedingly complex legal doctrine that limits the amount of time that property can be controlled after death by a person's instructions in a will. For example, a person would not be allowed to leave property to her husband for his life, then to her children for their lives, then to her grandchildren. The gift would potentially go to the grandchildren at a point too remote in time.

ESTATE TAXES

Taxes imposed by the state or federal government on property as it passes from the dead to the living. All property you own, whatever the form of ownership, and... (more...)
Taxes imposed by the state or federal government on property as it passes from the dead to the living. All property you own, whatever the form of ownership, and whether or not it goes through probate after your death, is subject to federal estate tax. Currently, however, federal estate tax is due only if your property is worth at least $2 million when you die. The estate tax is scheduled to be repealed for one year, in 2010, but Congress will probably make the repeal (or a very high exempt amount) permanent. Any property left to a surviving spouse (if he or she is a U.S. citizen) or a tax-exempt charity is exempt from federal estate taxes. Many states now also impose their own estate taxes or inheritance taxes.

INTER VIVOS TRUST

The Latin name, favored by some lawyers, for a living trust. 'Inter vivos' is Latin for 'between the living.'

LETTERS TESTAMENTARY

The document given to an executor by the probate court, authorizing the executor to settle the estate according to either a will or the state's intestate succes... (more...)
The document given to an executor by the probate court, authorizing the executor to settle the estate according to either a will or the state's intestate succession laws.

PREDECEASED SPOUSE

In the law of wills, a spouse who dies before the will maker while still married to him or her.

TRUST CORPUS

Latin for 'the body' of the trust. This term refers to all the property transferred to a trust. For example, if a trust is established (funded) with $250,000, t... (more...)
Latin for 'the body' of the trust. This term refers to all the property transferred to a trust. For example, if a trust is established (funded) with $250,000, that money is the corpus. Sometimes the trust corpus is known as the 'res,' a Latin word meaning 'thing.'

DISTRIBUTEE

(1) Anyone who receives something. Usually, the term refers to someone who inherits a deceased person's property. If the deceased person dies without a will (ca... (more...)
(1) Anyone who receives something. Usually, the term refers to someone who inherits a deceased person's property. If the deceased person dies without a will (called intestate), state law determines what each distributee will receive. Also called a beneficiary.

SAMPLE LEGAL CASES

In re Kostin Estate

In Docket No. 272767, respondent Camille A. Kent appeals as of right the probate court's judgment and order following a bench trial, interpreting a will and trust, determining heirs and devisees, and determining title to property after decedent Juanita Kostin's death in 2004. ...

In re Nestorovski Estate

723 Payne, Broder & Fossee (by Andrew J. Broder) and Underwood & March (by Lauren M. Underwood), Bingham Farms, for the petitioner. ... Kemp Klein Law Firm, PC (by Alan A. May and Debra Nance), Troy, for the respondent. ... Before: SAAD, CJ, and BORRELLO and ...

In re Rudell Estate

During her lifetime, the decedent owned a certain parcel of residential real property located at 1170 Chesterfield in Birmingham, Michigan (the property). In 1982, the decedent properly transferred ownership of the property to the trust. According to the complaint filed in this matter, the ...