Probate and Estate Administration

Administering Estates throughout Michigan

After the loss of a loved one, you need competent counsel to guide you through the complexity of the probate and estate administration process.  Estate administration, sometimes including probate, is the legal process of settling the affairs of an estate after a person's death. It includes paying off estate or trust debts, winding up businesses, and transferring remaining estate or trust properties into the hands of beneficiaries.

At Willis & Willis, we represent individuals and fiduciaries through the probate and estate and trust administration process. Our attorneys also act in the capacity of Trustee and Personal Representative for our clients' estates. It is important to hire an attorney who is intimately familiar with the local probate court system. To speak to a lawyer about the probate process, contact us to schedule an appointment. Our law firm has two convenient locations in Kalamazoo and Paw Paw, Michigan.

Probate is often a necessary process for many families dealing with the death of a loved one. It is the recognized process in which the court will settle the affairs of the estate. Disputes regarding an estate can also be settled in the probate process. While estate-planning can minimize some of the issues related to probate, issues such as the following may still arise:

• The probate of wills
• Rights of beneficiaries and will contests
• Guardianships and conservatorships
• Amendments of trusts
• Disputes related to trusts
• Will Contests
• Trust Contests
• Adoptions

At Willis & Willis, we will also assist families with estate administration. We will counsel fiduciaries about their obligations and rights during estate administration. Our firm will also settle issues related to:

• Settling the estate to maximize the property available to beneficiaries
• Administration of large, complex estate plans
• Preparation of federal estate tax return, and performing post mortem tax planning

Guardianship and Conservatorship Proceedings

We assist clients and their families through the "living probate" process of establishing a trusted person to manage the person (guardianship proceedings) and financial affairs (conservatorship proceedings) of a disabled person. In the estate planning process, we assist clients in the drafting and implementation of financial and medical powers of attorney documents which intend to avoid the need for guardianship and conservatorship proceedings.

To learn more about probate and estate administration, contact a lawyer at Willis & Willis for an appointment. One of our attorneys is also licensed in Florida, to better serve our "snowbird clients".