COA Dives into Temporary Fiduciaries

By Doug Chalgian on May 30, 2023

  I would be going too far to say that this recently released Court of Appeals opinion is one of the most important cases of the year.  But...

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Surviving Spouse Escapes Trust Box – COA Puts Him Back

By Doug Chalgian on March 28, 2023

  The challenge when planning for second marriages where each of them has children from prior relationships is that the client has to decide how it will go...

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Another Stop at the Last Resort

By Doug Chalgian on May 18, 2020

Suitability to serve as guardian and conservator of an impaired adult is the topic of this unpublished Court of Appeals decision. To read In Re Guardianship and Conservatorship...

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Great Facts and Experts Can’t Survive Summary

By Doug Chalgian on November 22, 2018

An unpublished opinion today that looks at the question of when expert opinions are sufficient to create a question of fact, versus when they remain mere speculation; in...

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Seeing Redd

By Doug Chalgian on September 21, 2017

  Here’s another important published opinion on the topic of adult guardianships. The case is about the removal of a guardian of an adult ward appointed under EPIC. The case...

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Remainder Beneficiary of Revocable Trust has Standing to Sue Trustee for Breach

By Doug Chalgian on September 14, 2017

UPDATE: On June 8, 2018, the Michigan Supreme Court vacated those portions of this decision that incorrectly construed the Michigan Trust Code provisions related to standing to initiate a trust...

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Civil Actions versus Proceedings in Probate Court

By Doug Chalgian on August 10, 2017

When starting a new litigation matter in probate court, a threshold issue is to determine whether the matter should be characterized as a probate “proceeding” or a “civil...

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Tangled Webs

By Doug Chalgian on January 9, 2016

If someone wanted to capture the essence of elder law litigation in a nutshell, they might be inclined to echo the words of the poet: “Oh what tangled webs...

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This Is Awkward

By Doug Chalgian on October 11, 2015

New published Court of Appeals opinion. Click here to read it. Lawyer prepares an estate plan for client (and purported friend). The estate plan leaves most of the...

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Bittner’s Bite

By Doug Chalgian on September 13, 2015

So we have a new published opinion on a probate court case – something unusual these days.  In Re Conservatorship of Shirley Bittner was published September 8, 2015. ...

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Doug Chalgian

About The Author: Doug Chalgian

I am an estate planning, probate litigating, elder law attorney. This is a blog for clients and professional colleagues. In it I offer my ideas about the state of the law and the practice of law. I believe we are living through a unique period during which the law (which is traditionally slow to change) and society are attempting to evolve to address the explosion of people living long lives. I find these developments fascinating and enjoy being involved in this evolution.