Michigan Estate Planning | When to Start?

As a Michigan estate planning lawyer, I was contacted by an author who is writing a book on estate planning nationally.   One of his questions was “When should an individual begin thinking about planning their estate?”

My response was”at the age of majority.”  In Michigan, an individual is legally an adult when they turn 18.  What this means is that an 18 year old (maybe college student) now has to make legal that which would be assumed, i.e. if something happened, their parents would make decisions for them.

Our firm recommends that Michigan 18 year olds complete at least a patient advocate designation, living will, and financial power of attorney.  Most likely they would name their parents for each of these roles.

The Michigan powers of attorney and healthcare directives are especially important for those 18-25 year olds that are away to college.  If something were to happen it is important to already have the necessary documents in place so that parents can act quickly with legal authority.

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