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 it). I never understood why that term seemed so magical to people, but it did. And so, I would spend time in client meetings figuring out if they needed a deed at all, and then explaining what the difference was between a quitclaim deed and other common types of deeds. Today, clients come in similarly excited about needing a “ladybird” deed. As it was with the quitclaim deed in years past, so it is with the ladybird deed these days. People just seem to like the name or the notion of it.
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.
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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.
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 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.
