Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Michigan

Hi, my name is Jennifer -

I'm the power of attorney over my grandmother, who we just had to put in a nursing home. My uncle, who passed away 20 years ago had funds in an account and my grandmother never closed the account so it was sent to the state. In order for my grandmother to get the funds through missing money, we have to show proof of his account, which we have, and also provide a copy of his estate. The problem is that my grandmother never opened an estate for him so now, 20 years later, we have to open an estate. Please tell me how I can go about doing that since my grandmother is now in a nursing home... would I be able to sign her name and put my address so everything would come to my place and not the nursing home? How would I go about filling out the forms? My uncle resided in Wayne County when he passed away in 1989. He was not married and had no children. All he had was my grandmother (who's now in a nursing home) and his brothers and sisters. Please help guide me as to where to start or what to do. I did print off line the froms I would need for his estate but am not sure how to fill them out or if I can sign her name( it has to be notoritzed) and put my address. As far as I know my uncle didn't have any debt but who knows, that was 20 years ago. Thanks for all and any help you can provide. My grandmother doesn't have much money, otherwise, I'd have an attorney do the work but I think it would be more then my grandmother can afford.


Asked on 10/20/09, 8:37 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jerrold Bartholomew Priority Elder Law and Estate Planning, PLC

Hi Jennifer. There are a couple of things that you should understand here. I will be happy to help.

First, this is a fairly complicated estate. You are correct that your grandmother would be his heir (from the facts that you have given) but it will take some time and effort to prove that to the probate court. Furthermore, there is no way to avoid having this inheritance "count" for purposes of financing your grandmother's nursing home care.

My suggestion would be to get a thorough review of your grandmother's overall situation so that her assets can be spent in the most effective way possible (perhaps even preserved to some degree) and so that the probate process does not drive you crazy only to have all of the proceeds go to nursing home care.

I would suggest you gather the items on this checklist: (http://michiganelderlaw.info/medicaid-application-checklist/) and make an appointment to have the situation reviewed.

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Answered on 10/25/09, 10:36 am


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