WHLR Estate and Trust Attorneys Help Protect Your Assets

Let us help protect your assets and your goals through estate planning

Whether  you’re planning the handling of your and your family’s  financial and care needs on your death or disability, Winegarden, Haley, Lindholm, Tucker & Himelhoch, PLC can help with all aspects of your estate plan, including providing advice and counseling concerning the  drafting, and implementation of:

• Wills
• Revocable and Irrevocable Trusts, including funding and administration
• Durable Powers of Attorney
• Succession Planning for businesses
• Guardianship and Conservatorships
• Proper designations of beneficiaries on insurance policies and retirement plans
• Review of title issues and transfers of property in connection with estate planning objectives
• Estate tax issues
• Choosing the appropriate personal representative or trustee
• Handling of assets for the care and support of  persons with special needs

Estate planning documents are extremely flexible and can be designed to fit your unique needs.  Winegarden, Haley, Lindholm and Robertson, PLC works closely with you to determine your goals and to create carefully structured estate plans to carry out your intentions.

Your will and, in appropriate circumstances, a revocable or irrevocable trust provides the opportunity to distribute your property, establish care for your children and otherwise express your wishes upon your death. If you die without a will,  or a properly funded trust, or without having made appropriate choices in beneficiary designations of insurance policies or retirement plans, or joint ownership of property,  a court may determine how your property is distributed and who cares for your children – and may make decisions that might not reflect your desires. We can draft wills, trusts, and other estate planning documents that help ensure your intentions are honored.

WHLR can update your estate plan

As your life changes, so might your estate plan. You should update your will and trusts periodically throughout your life. The attorneys at Winegarden, Haley, Lindholm and Robertson, PLC  can draft valid codicils to wills, amendments to revocable trusts, and revise or replace other estate planning documents to the extent possible, that address changes in your financial situation, marital status, number of children or grandchildren, philanthropic interests and general lifestyle decisions.

If you have minor children, your will allows you to make decisions about their future care. Naming a guardian and conservator may be  especially important if you are a single parent, but even married couples must consider the remote possibility of perishing in a common incident. If you do not name a guardian, the court will appoint one whose decisions may be in conflict with your parenting goals.

When necessary, we will litigate probate and trust disputes

When questions arise about the validity of wills, trusts, or other estate planning documents, or the management of estate or trust assets, uncertainty can arouse animosity and prevent closure. If you, as a beneficiary, suspect that a will or trust does not reflect the wishes of the deceased, you may have a right to challenge the proceedings in court. Similarly, if you have grounds to believe a personal representative or trustee is mismanaging the assets of the estate or a trust, you may have standing to raise that issue. On the other hand, a personal representative or trustee is entitled to a vigorous defense against accusations of incompetence, improper or unlawful conduct. Winegarden, Haley, Lindholm, Tucker & Himelhoch, PLC provides highly professional representation for beneficiaries and fiduciaries in estate and trust disputes.

Many people hesitate to hire an attorney because they wish to keep a family dispute within the family. However, the court may treat your suspicions lightly if you raise them without a professional presentation, and present them without a firm basis in the law that an attorney can provide. Moreover, a seasoned attorney who has been through such negotiations before is likely to produce a settlement of disputed issues that allows the proceedings to move forward at less cost to the estate.

WHLR attorneys assist in the administration of estates and trusts

Administering an estate or a trust can be trying and complicated even for experienced trustees and/or personal representatives. At Winegarden, Haley, Lindholm and Robertson, PLC our attorneys provide estate administration and services to trustees and personal representatives and work closely with CPAs and other financial advisors to navigate the probate and tax processes and to insure that all duties and requirements are fulfilled. To that end we help assemble an itemized all estate and trust assets, prepare petitions and reports for parties, beneficiaries and courts. We prepare informal and formal itemizations and accountings and insure that all necessary income and other taxes are filed. We help resolve and/or litigate creditor’s claims and also distribute assets to the estate and/or trust beneficiaries.

Contact Winegarden, Haley, Lindholm and Robertson, PLC, an estate planning law firm you can trust.

For comprehensive estate planning services, and trust and estate representation in Genesee County  and throughout Michigan , call Winegarden, Haley, Lindholm and Robertson, PLC at 810-767-3600 or contact us online to schedule a consultation.