The Michigan Supreme Court has discarded the 36-year-old doctrine that once prevented insurance companies from denying claims based on fraudulent statements made in an insured’s application.  Previously, the law stated that an insurer could not deny liability in the event of fraud found on an insured’s application if the fraud would have been “easily ascertainable” by the insurer.  Now, fraud, if proven, can serve as a complete bar to recovery.  Insurance […]

We have all heard the probate horror stories. A Will took five years to be probated, generating hundreds of thousands of dollars in attorneys’ fees. All of the assets from someone else’s estate were stolen by the personal representative (executor), leaving the family with nothing. The probate judge was unfair. Such stories instill fear about probate administration, which can lead to estate planning decisions with unintended consequences. The following is a listof the top ten […]

Pension plans are quickly disappearing in both the public and private sectors.   As a result, traditional Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and defined contribution plans under Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code (401ks) will most likely become the most significant assets in many estate plans. These assets are typically “qualified,” meaning that the money is deposited into these retirement accounts on a pre-tax basis, with the income taxes being collected upon […]