Remy Law

Usually the wealth question is the wrong one. A trust is about control: it decides who receives what, when they receive it, and on what terms, and it carries that out without the probate court. That is worth as much on a modest estate as a large one, and often more, because a modest estate has less room to absorb delay or a distribution that lands badly.

It goes through the probate court. That means a public court file, a creditor notice period that has to run before the estate can close, and several months to a year before it is finished. Your personal representative also cannot sell the house cleanly until the court grants authority. A funded revocable trust transfers the same property privately and without that wait.

Every plan is quoted as a flat fee, agreed before any work begins. Not an estimate that moves later. What drives the number is complexity rather than the size of your estate: a business interest, property in more than one county, a blended family, or a beneficiary who needs protection. The free 15-minute call is where we establish what your situation actually calls for.

Find out whether a deed transferring your home into the trust was ever prepared and signed, and where that deed is now. Then pull your beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance and read who they name, because those override both your will and your trust. Those two answers tell you whether the plan does what you think it does. It is a short piece of work regardless of who drafted it.

Yes. The office is at 5263 Plymouth Road in Ann Arbor and you are welcome there. Most of the planning conversation can happen by phone or video if that is easier, but your estate plan has to be signed with witnesses present, so signing is arranged in person at a time that works for you.