Legal Question in Family Law in Michigan

Re: Funds held in escrow from an insurance settlement

All such distributions are generally subject

to apportionment in a Surrogates(Probate) Court

prior to any of the money being released.

This is extremely normal. What you should

do is remind the attorney that the money

had better be in an interest bearing account

in the name of the estate, with the interest

accruing to the estate, or there will be

an accounting problem down the road when

the apportionment proceeding is complete

Re: Funds held in escrow from an insurance settlement

To Whom It May Concern:

This is in response to your email of July 12, 2001.

If there is money being held in probate, the probate attorney may be able to make a distribution from those funds. However, such distributions are dependant on a number of things, including whether there are one or more beneficiaries, whether all the beneficiaries have been identified, whether there is any possibility of appeal, how far the probate process has progressed, etc. I recommend that your friend contact the probate attorney regarding a partial distribution. But be advised that the probate attorney�s responsibility lies with the entire estate and therefore all the beneficiaries. Therefore the percentage of a distribution, if any, would have to be low enough to ensure that the debts of the estate can be paid in full (which include estate taxes) and there must remain significant assets for any other unforeseen expense.

Sincerely,

Michael D. Eberth

(313) 561-5700

[email protected]