Estate Planning Attorney in Novi
Novi isn’t like other Michigan suburbs. More than a quarter of the people in this community are immigrants. Novi has families working at international automotive companies, technology businesses, and engineering firms all in need of a legal ways to protect what they’ve built.. A large number of people have assets in multiple countries and others have dual citizenship.
That’s the issue because typically, estate plans are drafted as though the testators of the will are US citizens.
A standard will may assume that all the assets are situated in Michigan and that the grandparents are 20 minutes away. That’s not the case for a lot of Novi families. And this is where it helps to have a seasoned estate planning attorney in Novi on your side.
The People’s Firm PLLC is a Michigan estate planning and probate law firm serving the families of Novi helping to secure the assets the people have accumulated. Whether it’s a home in Tollgate Woods, a retirement account at Farmington Hills, or property in a country from which you’ve emigrated. Our team of estate planning attorneys in Novi have helped hundreds of families in Michigan with wills, trusts and probate issues and our practice was founded on one principle: Good planning should be personal, clear, and focused on your life. Not a replica of another’s.
Estate Planning For Novi's International Families
Not all estate plans take international families or dual citizenship families into account when drafting a will or establishing a trust in Novi. This is surprising to many. Federal law provides a married couple with an unlimited marital deduction that allows one spouse to leave the other, without estate tax consequences. But that deduction doesn’t automatically apply when the surviving spouse isn’t a citizen.
However, there’s a fix and it’s called a Qualified Domestic Trust or QDOT and it preserves that protection for non-citizen spouses. It does require proper configuration, but most lawyers probably don’t discuss it since the majority of their clients don’t use it. But in Novi, plenty of families need QDOT.
Cross boarder questions don’t end here and as a Novi wills and trust lawyers, we deal with these types of situations regularly.
Assets in Multiple Countries
A Michigan will generally doesn’t control property in Japan, India, China, or anywhere else. Your estate plan will need coordinated planning alongside as estate planning attorney in Novi to ensure your home-country arrangements don’t contradict with your assets in Michigan.
Guardianship When Family Lives Overseas
One of the most common scenarios we come across when drafting a will in Novi or establishing trust is the guardianship of kids if something happens to their family overseas. With a will, you can designate a permanent or a local temporary guardian for your children every time you’re traveling to a different country. This sort of estate planning set up is beneficial for families who have to travel to dangerous countries or their job requires constant travel.
An Estate Plan that Adjusts With You Moving Out of USA
Situations change and you along with your family might have to move out of the USA for business setup purposes or better employment. But what happens to all the assets you’ve built in Michigan? Some of our clients answer to this by saying they’ll liquidate their assets. But we always advise them otherwise because your assets here in Michigan can help your kids in the future. That’s why we set up estate plans that address your moving out of the USA concern and adjust according to the country you’re moving to.
Green Card and Visa Holders
Permanent residents and green card holders can absolutely establish a trust of draft a will in Michigan. However, it’s not something you can do yourself because your immigration status and tax exposure needs to be in check. That’s where our team of estate planning attorneys in Novi come in.
Family First Estate Plans for Novi's Young Families
Thousands of people have moved into Novi in the last 10 years, with the majority of these being dual-income households purchasing new homes with young children.
If you are like that, estate planning may seem like something you can address later. But it isn’t, because if you have minor children, and no estate plan, a judge will decide who’ll raise your children and who will inherit what from your assets. Not you. The judge won’t be able to guess whether your sister is great with the kids or your brother.
Here’s a simple course of action many Novi families can take to safeguard their assets, and their children’s future.
- A will: naming guardians for your children and directing where your assets go
- A revocable living trust: holding your home and major accounts so your family skips probate court entirely
- A durable power of attorney: so someone you trust can handle finances if you’re incapacitated
- A patient advocate designation: so medical decisions stay in hands you chose
That’s it. With four documents, an afternoon of decisions, and your family is better protected than life insurance alone.
Our Estate Planning Services in Novi
All of our estate planning services in Novi are centered towards internal families and US citizens who need legal documents and strong legal support in either protecting their assets from the get-go, or need legal help in probate cases.
Your will specifies how your assets should be distributed, who is in charge of distributing them, and what should happen to your assets if you leave minor children. If you don’t have one, Michigan’s intestate succession laws under EPIC do it for you and the state’s formula doesn’t always reflect your family’s wishes.
Properly funded revocable living trusts allow assets to pass to your beneficiaries privately and quickly, without probate. You are the grantor and retain full control over the trust throughout your lifetime and can change or cancel it at any time as your circumstances change.
A Qualified Domestic Trust (QDOT)
It is a type of trust used by most states to help with estate taxes. Specialized planning for couples in which only one member is not a US citizen, without losing the marital deduction which is assumed by regular planning.
Best for asset protection, Medicaid planning and where it makes sense to move assets out of your taxable estate.
If done correctly, a durable power of attorney will continue to control your finances while you are incapacitated and do not need a court-appointed conservator.
Patient Advocate Designations.
A healthcare proxy for Michigan. When you are unable to speak for yourself, you select your voice.
When you don’t have an established trust your case goes to probate where even a hand-written will may be challenged. This leads to complicated probate cases that stretch for months before the rightful inheritors get a chance to gain access to the assets left by their loved ones. If you haven’t established a trust yet and your case is pending in Probate, our Novi probate attorneys can help.
Why Novi Families Choose The People’s Firm PLLC
Plenty of estate planning firms in Novi serve basic template based estate plans without considering the special needs and position of the testator. At The People’s Firm PLLC, we take a deep dive into your case and understand your situation before drafting anything. This creates a solid estate plan for Novi families as our wills and trust attorneys make sure your wishes are clearly articulated in your legal documents.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Estate Planning in Novi
Can a non-US citizen create a will or trust in Michigan?
Yes. Wills, trusts, and powers of attorney can be made in Michigan for Green card holders and visa holders who live in Novi. The estate plan should only reflect your citizenship, because some tax benefits are not the same for non-citizens.
What happens to my assets in another country when I die?
Typically, your Michigan will only manage your US assets. A foreign country’s inheritance laws typically govern property in another country. We assist in coordinating your Michigan plan with your arrangements back home so that the two plans do not interfere with each other.
Who will raise my children if my closest relatives live overseas?
You can appoint a permanent guardian abroad and a temporary guardian in Michigan. While the temporary guardian takes care of your children, the permanent guardian has the bigger say in your children’s life and finances. The temporary guardian is a bridge between your children and the permanent guardian. In some cases, when the children don’t want to move to their permanent guardian (in another state or country) the trust setup comes into play and may pay for the permanent guardians to move to the children.
Do I need a trust, or is a will enough?
Even if you make a will, it will still go to the probate court. If you have a home and accounts to consider, then for most Novi residents a revocable living trust makes sense since it will save your family months of time and thousands of dollars in costs at the Oakland County Probate Court. Our Novi Michigan trust attorneys can walk you through the intricacies of setting up a trust or drafting a will in Novi, MI.