Michigan Elder Law
Empathetic Elder Law Guidance
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Michigan Elder Law
Let’s talk
Caring for an aging parent can be both meaningful and difficult.
While many consider it an honor to care for their loved ones who gave so much to them, the responsibilities, stress, uncertainty, and urgency often involved can be more than they expect.
Our Certified Elder Law Attorneys at Mall Malisow & Cooney are ready to provide the legal planning, help, and guidance you need in these challenging moments.
In fact, we have specialized our elder law advocacy to such a degree that we offer a trademarked ElderCare℠ Legal Planning service.
Let us provide the insights and answers you need to honor and care for your aging loved one in the way they deserve.
Michigan elder law is not just estate planning for older adults.
Rather, it is a comprehensive, forward-looking approach to planning that effectively utilizes various legal tools and protections in the way your elderly parent or loved one needs.
Elder law planning involves:
To accomplish these objectives and create the best outcome possible for your elderly loved one, you need a clear plan that adapts to their needs as they age.
The elder law attorneys at Mall Malisow & Cooney have over a hundred years of combined legal experience with these matters. As a result, we have learned the importance of listening to you and getting to know your unique circumstances and goals.
From there, we’ll identify the right legal approach that protects the quality of life of your aged loved one while also preserving and protecting their assets.
Trusts are one of the most valuable tools in Michigan elder law. They allow aging parents to protect their assets, plan for long-term care, and reduce the risk of court involvement.
Many families assume trusts are only for the wealthy. However, trusts are often essential for middle-class families with elderly loved ones, since they help:
Revocable trusts (also called living trusts) are commonly used for probate avoidance and financial management with elder law planning. Because they remain under the loved one’s control while they are alive, they are flexible and easy to administer.
However, revocable trusts do not protect against Medicaid spend-down requirements.
For long-term care planning, irrevocable trusts may be the best choice for an elderly loved one, but only when created under the right circumstances and for the right reasons.
For example, irrevocable trusts must be carefully drafted, since they directly impact Medicaid eligibility rules, asset transfers, and five-year lookback periods. Thus, mistakes made with irrevocable trusts can cost families tens of thousands of dollars in denied benefits or penalties.
The elder law lawyers at Mall Malisow & Cooney regularly handle complex trust matters, including trusts other attorneys are not familiar with.
Our extensive experience is one reason other lawyers refer difficult cases to us, which include those involving incapacity, long-term care, or other nuanced elder planning questions.
A Financial Power of Attorney is especially important when planning for elderly loved ones.
It allows someone they trust (usually an adult child) to manage financial and legal matters if they become unable to handle them independently.
Without this document, a family cannot legally:
If your parent becomes incapacitated without a financial POA, you may be forced to petition the court for a conservatorship, which is time-consuming, expensive, and emotionally difficult for families.
In Michigan, a Financial Power of Attorney must comply with specific requirements under the Michigan Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act for it to be enforceable. The person granting authority must also have the mental capacity to understand what powers they are giving.
Our Michigan elder law attorneys take special care to ensure your Financial Power of Attorney reflects your loved one’s wishes to help you care for their needs while protecting them from misuse or exploitation.
Many Michigan families discover too late that a loved one never had a valid will. This may be due to the will being outdated, incomplete, or drafted at a time when the parents’ circumstances were different.
As a result, families may be left scrambling to care for their parents’ affairs during an already difficult time.
Worse yet, not having a valid will causes Michigan’s intestacy laws to take control, which dictate inheritance automatically instead of according to a parent’s wishes.
Making sure your parents have a valid Michigan will helps avoid this stress and hardship, allowing your parent to:
Will requirements for elderly adults
Michigan law requires that a will is made by someone of sufficient mental at the time it is signed.
Thus, it’s essential to not delay in drafting a will for an elderly family member, especially if your parent is beginning to show early signs of cognitive decline.
In Michigan, wills must also comply with the Estates and Protected Individuals Code (EPIC), which provides legal guidance as to what is acceptable.
Our elder law attorneys have the experience and insights needed to ensure these details are handled correctly, that the will is legally valid.
As a parent ages or develops chronic conditions, medical decision-making becomes increasingly complex.
To help with these matters, Michigan allows for an advance directive (also called a living will) to be utilized by your loved one to express their wishes about life-support, resuscitation, and other critical medical interventions.
Michigan healthcare providers generally accept advance directives as written instructions, especially when paired with a patient advocate designation.
Additionally, a Medical Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care can also be appointed by elderly ones in Michigan. This enables your loved one to appoint someone to make healthcare decisions when they cannot speak for themselves. These decisions include treatment, hospitalization, and end-of-life care.
Mall Malisow & Cooney’s elder law planning attorneys often combines these tools to ensure your parent’s preferences are respected during a medical crisis. These documents also reduce conflict among siblings by clearly identifying who has authority and what your parent wants.
If an aging parent loses the ability to make decisions and has not completed a durable power of attorney or medical power of attorney, Michigan courts may need to appoint a guardian or conservator.
Here is the main difference between the two:
Our elder planning lawyers guide families through both proceedings, watching carefully for situations where guardianship or conservatorship may be unnecessary or overly restrictive.
Our experienced attorneys can also help ensure:
Because contested guardianships can be emotionally charged and legally complex, having our 100+ years of combined experience with elder law matters at your disposal provides you with the extra help needed to improve outcomes and reduce stress on your family.
Elder law is not only about legal documents. It also involves practical, day-to-day decisions about your parent’s safety, care, and quality of life.
Michigan families often find themselves overwhelmed when trying to understand the long-term care landscape their elderly loved one may be facing, including:
At Mall Malisow & Cooney, we incorporate care advocacy into our ElderCare Legal Planning.
That means we help families like yours understand their options and make informed choices. Every ElderCare Legal Plan is designed to achieve three primary objectives:
Our elder care advocacy also includes safeguarding against financial exploitation, which is a common risk that many older adults face.
Let our elder planning attorneys provide holistic planning that addresses quality of life and care matters to help your loved one get the best care possible in their golden years.
Your elder family member likely wants their hard-earned assets to go their loved ones, not to the government.
However, most of the costs for long term care are not covered by Medicare or private insurance.
These costs can quickly erode the remaining assets of your loved one, denying them to other family members. For example, nursing homes can easily cost more than $100,000 per year, and assisted living facilities can place a significant financial burden on families.
Additionally, Medicaid rules and tax restrictions for the elderly can be very confusing, with numerous exceptions, exemptions, and planning opportunities that can protect a significant portion of your parent’s assets.
Our elder law attorneys empower families to preserve and protect their loved one’s assets by helping with:
If you or a loved one would like to preserve some assets for later distribution to heirs while also preparing for possible long term care costs, the Michigan elder law attorneys of Mall Malisow & Cooney can help design a plan unique to your needs.
Our attorneys are skilled in using various strategies to preserve assets against the cost of long-term care, whether done in advance or upon becoming ill and requiring care.
Additionally, our attorneys are also ready to help you sort through the legal jargon to find the best legal solution to protect your assets.
Our elder law attorneys know every family’s situation is different:
What sets Mall Malisow & Cooney apart is how much we truly care.
As a result, we listen with patience, understand the unique pressures your family is facing, and help make your complicated issues more understandable.
Even if the law itself cannot always be made simple, our attorneys will work tirelessly to give your family clarity, confidence, and a clear path forward to help you get the results you want.
The Certified Elder Law Attorneys at Mall Malisow & Cooney are ready to help you and your aging loved one, however you need.
Let us provide the ElderCare legal planning your loved one deserves, preserving their legacy while protecting them with their changing needs.
Call us today at 248-538-1800 or fill out our contact form.
