When Older Adults Make Bad Decisions

By Doug Chalgian on May 9, 2023

  Article by Attorney Doug Chalgian of Chalgian and Tripp Law Offices, PLLC When new clients come in and tell me that an older adult in their family is allowing a...
By Christopher W. Smith, Chalgian & Tripp Law Offices, PLLC Special needs planners regularly encounter families who have accumulated large retirement accounts.  While the...

DIY DEEDS (DONE DIRT CHEAP)

By Doug Chalgian on January 4, 2023

Back in the day, when I started practicing law, clients would often come in with the notion that they needed a “quitclaim” deed (or “quick claim” deed as some would call...
A recent order from the Michigan Supreme Court carries significant implications to those operating residential facilities that cater to senior citizens. The family of an...

Often when clients meet with lawyers, it can be a stressful, uneasy time of crisis.  For Doug Chalgian and Amy Tripp of Chalgian & Tripp Law Offices, creating an approachable, empathetic practice is a the root of their business mission.  Chalgian and Tripp Law offices began in July 2002 and is preparing to celebrate its 20th Anniversary later this summer.  Amy Tripp found a great career home in joining the law firm in November 2003 and opened its Jackson partner location the following month.

 

To Read More: Jackson office article

 

Death Tax Talk Puts Planners on Edge

By Doug Chalgian on September 28, 2021

With a new administration in Washington, come increased attention to our tax laws, including laws that tax assets when people die.  For estate planning attorneys, this increased interest bring with it the possibility that changes may come which will impact their clients., and which may change the way they should be planning for clients in the future.

Probate Basics for the Intellectually Curious

By Doug Chalgian on February 22, 2021

Clichés about “avoiding probate” and “protecting your assets” are recited ad nauseum at the so-called “educational seminars” (aka sales presentations) put on nightly by lawyers and financial planners in eateries across Michigan. It isn’t surprising that people show up to these presentations. Probate law is complicated, and people understandably want to feel informed before they spend money and make important decisions about how their assets are distributed at their death. Unfortunately, for the most part, these free-dinner seminar programs are the only place they can go for information.

In Sickness and In Health

By Chalgian & Tripp on December 21, 2020

Tent outside nursing home
If you drove by the Medilodge Nursing Home in Brighton recently, you may have noticed an odd tentlike structure sticking out of the side of the building. Don’t be alarmed....

The Toughest Decision

By Chalgian & Tripp on November 23, 2020

woman with elderly mother
A friend or family member has been declining. An event occurs. They go into the hospital. And suddenly they’re facing the choice of whether they can return home or...

C & T Celebrates Women and the Law

By Chalgian & Tripp on September 29, 2020

  by Amy Rombyer Tripp The passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg followed by the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett as her replacement on the USSC demonstrates...

The Cat & Mouse of Exploitation Litigation

By Doug Chalgian on March 13, 2020

The Cat & Mouse of Exploitation Litigation

In litigation involving the financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult, timing is often everything.  Let’s say, for instance, that Dad really likes his new caregiver.  So much that his is “helping her out” financially.  You smell trouble, and you’re probably right.  The question is what to do, and more to the point:  when to do it.  The same question comes up when the concern about exploitation involves a sibling or a new spouse.

The Top 10 Ways to Incite Anarchy When You Die

By Chalgian & Tripp on February 6, 2020

When I talk to clients about their estate planning objectives, and make suggestions as to how things might go smoother, one reaction I sometimes get is: “I don’t really care...

Stretch IRAs Out with SECURE Act

By Doug Chalgian on December 27, 2019

The so-called “SECURE Act” recently passed by Congress and signed by the President makes several changes to the laws which direct the way retirement plans operate.  For...

Rosa Parks’ Coat Triggers 12 Year Court Battle

By Doug Chalgian on March 22, 2018

Earlier this week, the Michigan Court of Appeals handed down a decision, presumably bringing an end to litigation that has been ongoing since Rosa Parks died. She died October 24,...

The Threat of a Lawyer

By Doug Chalgian on February 16, 2018

Doug Chalgian
So your parent died and one of your siblings is the executor of the estate, or trustee of the trust – and nothing is happening. Gentle prodding hasn’t worked. Months, even...