Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Michigan

Re: father died no will

Hello, I have received a copy of your inquiry regarding what to do now that your father has died. Unfortunately there is inadequate information to guide you. Much depends on the types of assets, how they were titled, and the value of those assets. Probating estates is one of my firm's areas of concentration. Feel free to call me or my associate, Adam Wolak, if you would like to discuss the details of your case in person or over the phone. John C. Talpos (248) 743-6800 (http://www.Mich-Lawyer.com)

Re: father died no will

If your father died and did not have a will and his assets were in his individual name and did not have a beneficiary designated, then his estate is considered to be an INTESTATE estate. Literally this means he died without a will. If he had assets that were in joint ownership with rights of survivorship, beneficiary designations for his life insurance, ira's, 401k's then those assets are not subject to the probate process.

Probate is a public procedure thru the courts to create a method of finality to transfers assets to heirs or beneficiaries.

The laws of intestatcy in Michigan are specific as to who gets what. If he left a survivng spouse and all kids are of that marriage then his spouse receives the 1st 150k and the balance is split between kids and spouse. If no spouse then to living children and if a child predecease and left issue (his grandchildren) then they would also share to some degree.

As you can see I specialize in this area of the law. Please feel free to call me 248-641-7070 to discuss at no charge. If you do have to probate since April 2000 Mich's probate is much more friendly and does not cost as much as it used to. There is a $100 filing fee, $57 publication fee and inventory fee on the value of the estate. for instance just probate an informal estate of $150,000 in value and the inventory fee was $187.50. and then there were the attorney fees. See web site for firm profile and more about me. www.brmmlaw.com. Good luck

a

Re: father died no will

Give me some details. What kind of property did he have? Was he married? How many siblings do you have? With these answers, I can help. Bill Stern 248-353-9400

Re: father died no will

When a person dies without a Will, they are said to have died "intestate". If they owned assets in their individual name, a probate estate will need to be opened in order to transfer these assets to the persons heirs. Michigan law sets out a distribution scheme for individuals who died without a Will.

Our firm specializes in this area and we would be glad to assist you. Feel free to call us or visit our web site a www.probateprince.com.