Probate & Estate Planning
Estate Planning Is Not Just For The Wealthy, It's Essential To all
Many people understand the importance of having a will or trust, but effective planning extends far beyond a single document. At Great Lakes Legal Group, we help clients develop comprehensive estate plans that protect their assets, honor their wishes, and provide peace of mind for their loved ones. We also guide families through the probate and trust administration process with experienced counsel, helping personal representatives, trustees, beneficiaries, and other fiduciaries navigate their legal responsibilities. Our services include wills, trusts, powers of attorney, advance healthcare directives, guardianships, conservatorships, probate administration, trust administration, and related probate court matters.
Our firm’s experience in estate planning, trust administration, probate, and fiduciary matters is recognized throughout Michigan’s legal community. Our attorneys regularly counsel individuals, families, fiduciaries, and business owners on sophisticated estate planning and probate matters, combining practical guidance with strategic legal solutions tailored to each client’s goals.
Great Lakes Legal Group attorneys have been selected to contribute to continuing legal education programs through the Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE), reflecting the firm’s commitment to thought leadership and professional excellence. Our attorneys have presented on topics including estate planning for business owners, partnerships and single-member LLCs in the estate planning context, and strategies for avoiding trustee conflicts involving family businesses.
In addition to educating fellow attorneys, our team is committed to educating the public through seminars, podcasts, and community presentations covering estate planning, probate administration, trust management, and legacy planning.
Services include:
Wills & Trusts: Customized estate plans, revocable and irrevocable trusts, wealth preservation, and legacy planning.
Trust Administration: Guidance for trustees, trust settlement, fiduciary compliance, beneficiary communications, and trust distributions.
Powers of Attorney & Advance Directives: Durable financial powers of attorney, patient advocate designations, living wills, and healthcare directives.
Probate & Estate Administration: Probate proceedings, estate settlement, personal representative guidance, creditor claims, asset transfers, and court filings.
Guardianships & Conservatorships: Establishment, administration, modifications, contested proceedings, and fiduciary representation.
Trust & Estate Litigation: Will contests, trust disputes, fiduciary litigation, contested administrations, and beneficiary rights.
Probate Court Matters: Small estates, supervised and unsupervised administrations, heirship determinations, and other probate proceedings.
Business Succession Planning: Coordinating business ownership transitions with comprehensive estate planning strategies.