Chapter 2 covers: Tangible Assets, Intangible Assets, Real Estate, Life Insurance, Jointly held Assets,
Retirement Plan Assets, Transfers with a retained life estate, Revocable transfers,
Powers of Appointment and Valuation of the estate.
Chapter 8 covers: For purposes of funding, assets can be broken into several broad categories: Real Estate,
Life Insurance,
Publicly Traded Securities, Social Security Number, Non-Publicly Held Corporations,
Partnerships and LLCs,
Qualified Retirement Plans, SEPS, IRAs, 403(b)s, Personal Property, Often Missed Items.
Chapter 9 covers: Annual Exclusion Gifts, Taxable Gifts, Gift Splitting, The Marital Deduction,
Exclusion for Educational and Medical Expenses, The Present Interest Requirement,
Trusts for Minors, Charitable Gifts, GRATS and GRUTS and Planning Strategy.
Chapter 13 covers: Ethical Considerations, Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements, Separate Trusts,
Choice of Trustee, QTIP Trusts, Retirement Plan Assets, Michigan Statutory Rights and Conclusion.
Chapter 16 covers: Estates that contain valuable businesses and real estate assets, Family Limited
Partnerships,
Family Limited Liability Companies, Valuation and Valuation Discounts and Administration
Chapter 17 covers: IRA, 401(k), qualified retirement plans, 403(b), History, Choosing A Beneficiary, Rollover,
The "Stretch" Philosophy, Required Minimum Distributions: "RMDs",
Rolling Over Versus Not Rolling Over,
Post Death Planning, Ten Year Averaging,
Conclusion and Course of Action, Michigan Income Tax.
Chapter 20 covers: Trusts for Children, Transferor, Reverse QTIP Election, Early GST Exemption Allocation,
Use of Multiple Trusts to Optimize the GST Exemption, The Inclusion Ratio and EGTRRA.
Table of Contents
The Michigan Estate Planning Guide 2nd Edition. A handy reference written for laypersons & professionals.
The book explores common estate planning topics from the Michigan resident's
perspective including wills, durable powers of attorney, and revocable living trusts.
Along with more sophisticated estate planning tools such as irrevocable trusts,
charitable remainder trusts, and family limited partnerships are explained in understandable terms.
Estate Planning Questionnaire
This questionnaire isn’t just for the benefit of the estate planning attorney;
it should also aid the client in organizing his or her thoughts.
There are a number of questions aimed at assessing the net worth of the
client for estate tax purposes. From the author’s experience, most clients
are surprised to learn the size of their estate. The Questionnaire asks the
client to assess the relative physical and mental health of children.
Completing an estate planning Questionnaire prior to the first meeting with
the estate planning attorney can be a good way to provoke thought and
to open the lines of communication between the client and the attorney.
The information contained in this website is not intended to be comprehensive and should not be considered as individual legal advice.
The law discussed herein is inherently complex and constantly changing. You should consult with an experienced elder law attorney
for specific legal advice regarding your individual needs.
