Recent Blog Posts
Queen of Soul Dies Intestate
Like Prince, Bob Marley, Princess Diana and Pablo Picasso before her, Detroit’s Aretha Franklin died intestate last month. Here in Michigan, dying “intestate” means that you die without a will, trust, or other estate planning instruments. What happens when you die without an Estate Plan? If you die and have not put an estate… Read More »
Planning the Unplannable: Estate Planning and Suicide
Ernest Hemingway once wrote, “Every man’s life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another.” Recently, the deaths of Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade have shocked the world; like Hemingway, the two stars committed suicide. Bourdain, the star of… Read More »
Child Support When You’re a Superstar Multi-Millionaire
Miguel Cabrera’s season-ending injury is but one of the troubles the superstar millionaire is facing as the MLB’s All Star break fast approaches. The two-time American League MVP is embroiled in a legal battle with his one-time mistress over child support for their two children. High-Income Child Support Payors The baseball superstar has an… Read More »
Life Insurance and Revocation Upon Divorce
Last month, the SCOTUS heard oral argument on an interesting issue arising in most divorce cases. Life insurance policies are, by statute, automatically revoked between spouses upon a divorce here in Michigan and many other states. The case at the Supreme Court comes from Minnesota and involves the Husband’s designation of his ex-wife as… Read More »
Digital Divorce Platforms
Over the past few years, we’ve noted some flashy digital divorce platforms transitioning from beta to the marketplace. These platforms digitize the administrative aspects of divorce and reduce -sometimes even eliminate- the lawyers’ role. In January, California celebrity divorce lawyer Laura Wasser rolled-out her latest product: an on-line divorce site. It’s Over Easy claims… Read More »
Vegas Shooter’s Estate May Be Assigned to Public Administrator
Used to be a mass-shooting was something that sadly occurred once or twice a year in the U.S. Now, tragically, such shootings are weekly events. With this in mind, we noted that probate litigation instantly entangled Las Vegas mass-shooter Stephen Paddock’s estate. Most mass-murderers have little or no estate to administer. In Paddock’s case,… Read More »
When a Rapist Father is Awarded Child Custody
By now, we have all heard about the child custody case in Sanilac County. A family court judge unwittingly awarded custody and parenting time to the rapist father of a minor child. At first there was confusion about the case; now, the blame is going around. Judge Gregory Ross signed what he described as… Read More »
Adult Guardianships for the Elderly
Adult guardianships are more common today as the so-called Baby Boomer generation ages. Yet, in our free society, one adult does not legally control another without a compelling reason. Adult Guardianships Michigan’s probate code provides for adult guardianships under the proper set of circumstances. But what happens when the guardian abuses the protected individual?… Read More »
Appeals Court Clarifies “Usable Medical Marijuana”
How do you determine the weight of usable medical marijuana? That has been at the heart of many medical marijuana cases here in Michigan. For over a decade, the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act has arbitrarily limited care providers to 2.5 ounces of usable medical marijuana after a harvest, and up to 12 plants per… Read More »
Operating While Intoxicated In Your Own Driveway
On Monday, the Michigan Supreme Court decided an interesting operating while intoxicated [OWI] case. After pulling out of his garage, the man was arrested for drunk driving. Here are the Facts In People v Rea, neighbors of the accused complained to police about the noise next-door. An officer positioned his vehicle at the base… Read More »
