Remote Notarization and Witnessing for Estate Plans and Real Estate Documents

Remote Notarization and Witnessing is now allowed in Michigan under Executive Order 2020-41 throughout Michigan’s COVID-19 emergency.  Physical presence in front of notary and the requirement for physical original signatures have been temporarily suspended under Michigan’s Notary Act and the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act. A licensed notary with a valid notarial commission may

Secure Act

It’s called the Secure Act, and what you don’t know about it could end up costing thousands.  The Secure Act was signed into law on December 20, 2019, and it means big changes for your pre-tax retirement accounts. Prior to the Act, those inheriting traditional IRAs could take advantage of stretching the IRA required minimum

Considering a Prenuptial Agreement?

Getting married? Has your fiancée approached you about signing a prenuptial agreement? If so, make sure you have an attorney – your attorney – look at it first. Now discussing a prenuptial agreement may not be as romantic or fun as picking out your honeymoon destination, but sometimes the discussion is necessary, especially if you

Estate Planning When You Are Separated

Today’s modern family can be complex. In fact, today, many spouses have chosen to remain permanently separated without going through the process of divorce. While this arrangement may work in the short-term, such an arrangement has serious unforeseen consequences after a spouse has passed away. Long-term separations like this can raise complex inheritance issues, as

Estate Planning When You Are Separated

Today’s modern family can be complex. In fact, today, many spouses have decided to remain permanently separated from their spouses but not go through the process of divorce. We have seen this with the recent deaths of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, both of whom have estranged spouses that are entitled spousal rights arising out

The Death of Billionaire Tom Benson Provides Insight Into Privacy in Wills & Trusts and The Dangers of Challenging Your Father’s Competence

Former billionaire owner of the New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans, Tom Benson, passed away.  He was on his third wife and there was an apparent fight with his daughter in 2015 over his mental competence regarding running these organizations.  Yes, predictable result. It should be noted that Wills tend to be made public

Goodbye, Dower! Hello, Equality!

Recently the Michigan Legislature took a huge step towards furthering the equal treatment of its residents and their real property interests by eliminating an archaic and unnecessary law treating men and women unequally.  On January 5, 2016, Governor Snyder signed a series of bills that eliminated dower rights in Michigan.  Now, I’m sure most of

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