On the Brink

By Doug Chalgian on December 9, 2020

NOTE: THE LEGISLATION DISCUSSED BELOW DID NOT MAKE IT OUT OF THE SENATE AND DID NOT BECOME LAW.   Michigan might be on the brink of allowing for...

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Burned by the Boilerplate

By Doug Chalgian on August 2, 2020

A rainy Sunday morning.  No better time to write. And since it appears to be raining pretty much everywhere in Michigan this morning, maybe a longish ramble about...

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Six Month Discovery Rule Protects EP Attorney in Malpractice Action

By Doug Chalgian on February 27, 2020

As any estate planning attorney knows, representing both parties to a marriage in the estate planning process is dicey enough; and when it comes to second marriages, especially...

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Phone App “document” is a Valid Will in Michigan

By Doug Chalgian on July 18, 2018

  It happened and it’s published. The Michigan Court of Appeals held, in a published decision, that a paragraph posted by a decedent on his phone is a...

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The Fix Is In

By Doug Chalgian on May 11, 2018

In the process of probate administration, there are certain “allowances” that are paid “off the top” before creditors and beneficiaries get what they have coming.   Among those is...

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Lost Wills – A Tough Row to Hoe

By Doug Chalgian on February 17, 2018

This juicy little soap opera out of Battle Creek starts where so many of such tales begin:  Dad is married but his children are from a prior relationship. ...

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Share and Share Alike

By Doug Chalgian on October 19, 2017

This is an unpublished will construction case. To read In Re Estate of Eugenie Dietrich, click on the name. In other posts (see for instance Who Gets the...

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Lame Duck Legislature Lays Golden Egg – BIG TIME

By Doug Chalgian on December 3, 2016

DAPT – learn it and love it. Soon it will be all the talk.  Domestic asset protection trusts.  The news is that the Michigan legislature has approved a...

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Section 2503 Grows Up

By Doug Chalgian on November 12, 2016

  This just in – pretty big news - and pretty interesting – the Michigan Court of Appeals holds, in a published opinion, that a draft of a...

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Who Gets the Grow Lamps?

By Doug Chalgian on September 28, 2016

Thoughts on Plain English and Terms of Art In recent years, lawyers – or at least legal academics – have pushed the concept that lawyers need to write...

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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.