Anyone who goes to the trouble of having an attorney draft his or her Will quite naturally wants it to be honored by his or her heirs. In short, no Will contests! A lot of clients ask us how to prevent such mischief. The primary drafting tool is, not surprisingly, a clause prohibiting heirs from …
For some time, estate planners have been aware of the need to provide for access to a decedent’s digital assets. Michigan recently enacted the Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (the “Act”), which offers legal tools for passing digital assets to one’ estate, and guiding fiduciaries who must administer their decedent’s estate. Digital assets can …
A recent Michigan Court of Appeals decision illustrates once again just how difficult it can be to prove a case of undue influence. In the case of In re Peace Estate, the daughters of the deceased (Jeannette) contested their mother’s will because they were cut out of her will. They were opposed by Jeannette’s brother …