Michigan Estate Planning Lawyer Blog

The Elder Law Prof Blog has an interesting little post dealing with the Hong Kong Billionaire, Nina Wang's estate. Apparently, Ms. Wang who was known as "Little Sweeite" had a will drawn up in 2002 leaving her estate to a charity. A Judge just ruled that a "feng shui will" from 2006 would be invalidated due to Ms. Wang's signature being forged. You can read the post here: Feng Shui Master won't Inherit Eccentric Billionaire's Estate.

As Michigan probate lawyers we hardly ever run into situaitons where we have to engage in Michigan probate litigation over a forged last will and testament. That said, there is a forged will at the cent of the Booke Astor probate controversy. You can read the WSJ article on the subject of forged wills here: Forged Wills Are Now Not Just Fiction.

In Royal Oak, Michigan, the Royal Oak Probate court is located in Oakland County.

The address of the Oakland County Probate Court is located at:

Oakland County Probate Court -- Estates and Mental Health
1200 North Telegraph Road, Department 457
Pontiac, Michigan, USA 48341-0457

In West Bloomfield, Michigan, the West Bloomfield Probate court is located in Oakland County.

The address of the Oakland County Probate Court is located at:

Oakland County Probate Court -- Estates and Mental Health
1200 North Telegraph Road, Department 457
Pontiac, Michigan, USA 48341-0457

In Detroit, Michigan the Detroit Probate court is located in Wayne County.

The address of the Wayne County Probate Court is located at:

1307 Coleman A. Young

Municipal Center
2 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, Michigan 48226

In the continuing news of the Estate of Michal Jackson, NPR.org is reporting that the probate judge has appointed Michael Jackson's mother, Katherine Jackson, as guardian of his children.

As we saw in Michael Jackson's Last Will and Testament, this was his wishes since he named her as guardian in the document. Per NPR, Mrs. Jackson was the only person to petition the probate court for formal custody of the children. Additionally, there seems to be a custody agreement between Katherine Jackson and Michael Jackson's ex-wife, Deborah Rowe.

You can read the NPR article here: Judge Names Michael Jackson's Mom as Guardian.

The Estate of Steve McNair continues to make headlines due to his lack of property, make that any estate planning. According to WBIR.com, one of Steve McNair's sons prior to his marriage is preparing to make a claim to his inheritance. According to the article, this could set the stage for drawn out probate litigation.  You can read the article here: "Steve McNair's estate left in limbo."

The fact that neither mother of his sons previous to his marriage were married to Steve McNair will have no bearing on the sons potential inheritance, according to the article.

In the article, an attorney who worked on the Conway Twitty estate (which was a mess itself) is quoted as saying "This is why you have to leave a will so your wishes and desires are carried out."

Just like the Michigan probate court process, Steve McNair's wife has published the required Notice to Creditors in the local paper, according to the Nasvhille News. 

Complicating matters, because Steve McNair had not done any estate planning, Steve McNair's wife will have to open two probate estates.  One in Tennesee and one in Mississippit because he had assets in both states.  Now if Steve McNair had a properly funded living trust placing the assets in the trust, probate in both states most likely would have been avoided.  Instead Steve McNair's wife must go through two probate estate processes.

According to the article, once the Notice to Creditors is filed, Steve McNair's wife will have 30 days to file the Inventory in Mississippi and 60 days to file in the inventory in Tennessee.  This differs from the Michigan probate process.

When you open a Michigan probate, you have 91 days to file the Inventory.  The Notice to Creditors filing begins the clock for creditors to attach to the estate.  Once the Notice to Creditors filing happens there is a 4 month window for creditors.

According to recent probate court papers, the administrators for Michael Jackson's estate have recovered $5.5 million from one of Michael Jackson's "former financial advisers," according to a CNN story. 

Along with some contracts that Michael Jackson's estate possess, the lawyers for the administrators are hinting that even with the monstrous debt Michael Jackson had, that the estate will be solvent and will be able pay out to a trust for the benefit of his three minor children, according to the article.

This is very good news for his children.  The more assets that the administrators can uncover to fund the estate, the better off Michael Jackson's minor children will be. 

In the end, it appears that Michael Jackson's estate plan may be pretty well put together, in stark contrast to the mess that Steve McNair has created by having no estate plan at all. 

You can read about the Steve McNair estate here: Steve McNair Estate Plan Mistakes.

The Michael Jackson Estate probate hearing was today, TMZ has a quick and dirty live blog summary of what is taking place which you can read here.

Basically, the Probate Judge has enforced the provisions of the 2002 Jackson last will and testament that we have all seen.  That means that Branca and McClain will be the administrators (called personal representatives or executors) for the Michael Jackson estate.  Additionally, the probate judge may appoint a special attorney for the children's interest in the matter.

Whether you are the personal representative for an estate in Michigan or you are a beneficiary looking to challenge the personal representative, there are some key questions when it comes time for the accounting. These are especially important if you are a personal representative or executor and are looking to avoid a nasty drawn out Michigan probate litigation case.

First, look to the expenses and fees. Are they reasonable? Reasonableness is a gray area, but ask yourself if it passes the smell test.

Another area of interest is whether the personal representative or Michigan executor has provided verification of funds from any of the institutions where funds were deposited.

Third, look at the Michigan probate accounting as a whole. Is it understandable, clear, unambiguous? Does the probate accounting have all the necessary requirements of Michigan statute, Michigan case law, and court form?

Fourth, look at the timing of the filing of the Michigan probate accounting. There are rather strict time requirements to file an accounting.

These are just a few things to keep in mind as you navigate the Michigan probate process and try to avoid any Metro-Detroit probate litigation.