If you live in Ann Arbor and have been meaning to “get around to” an estate plan, you are in good company. Most people put it off because they assume it means a long, expensive, uncomfortable process. It usually does not.
Remy Law PLLC is based here in Ann Arbor, on Plymouth Road. George Remy has practiced law in Michigan for more than eighteen years and works directly with every client. There is no associate you have never met drafting your documents, and no hourly meter running while you decide.
What Ann Arbor households actually need to plan around
The shape of an estate plan follows the shape of what you own, and in Ann Arbor that usually comes down to which of two things is bigger: the house or the retirement account. Plenty of households have both. Which one dominates changes what the plan needs to focus on first.
If the house is the bigger number. For many Ann Arbor households it is. Washtenaw County property values mean a paid-down place near Burns Park or a bungalow in the Old West Side can account for the majority of a family’s net worth on its own. When that is the picture, the house is what drives the question of whether a trust is worth it, more than the size of your bank accounts does.
If the retirement account is the bigger number. For plenty of others here it is, and that is especially common if you work or worked at the University of Michigan or Michigan Medicine, where a long career can leave more in a 403(b) or similar account than in the property. This changes the priority, because those accounts do not pass through your will at all. They go to whoever is named on the beneficiary form, which may have been filled out decades ago, before a marriage, a divorce, or a child. Getting those forms right is often the highest-value hour of the whole engagement.
Children who should not inherit everything at eighteen. Without a trust, whatever you leave a minor is held until they turn eighteen and then handed over outright. For an Ann Arbor family whose estate is a house plus a term life policy, that can be a very large sum arriving at a very young age, which is a gift that can do real damage. A trust lets you release it in stages, hold part for tuition, and put a trustee you chose in charge until then. For parents, this is usually the single best reason to use one.
Rental property near campus. A duplex or rental house is both an income stream and a management problem the moment you are not there to run it. Who collects rent, who makes repairs, and who has authority to sell are questions worth answering on paper.
A cottage up north. Property in another county, or another state, adds a layer of complication that a trust is genuinely good at solving.
None of this requires a complicated plan. It requires a plan that matches what you actually have.
What an Ann Arbor estate plan usually includes
A complete plan for a typical Washtenaw County family covers four documents:
- A revocable living trust, the centerpiece of the plan, holding your home and directing who receives what without the court.
- A pour-over will, naming a guardian for minor children and catching anything that never made it into the trust.
- A durable power of attorney, letting someone you trust handle finances if you cannot.
- A healthcare directive and patient advocate designation, so medical decisions rest with a person you chose rather than a default.
- The deed, transferring your home into the trust. Without it the trust does not control the house.
Common questions from Ann Arbor families
Do I need a trust, or is a will enough?
We will almost certainly build your plan around a revocable living trust, and the reason is control rather than size. A will names who receives what and then hands the process to the probate court. A trust also sets when and on what terms, and settles it without that court. Two situations make it close to essential. One is owning a home, which most Ann Arbor households do. The other is having young children, where a lump sum arriving at eighteen can do more harm than good. A will-only plan suits narrower cases, and we will tell you plainly if yours is one.
My retirement account already names a beneficiary. Does my will control it?
No, and this surprises people. Retirement accounts, life insurance, and most payable-on-death accounts pass by beneficiary designation, which overrides whatever your will says. A plan that ignores those forms can send money somewhere you never intended. Reviewing them is part of the work.
Do I have to come to your office?
No. Most of the planning conversation happens by phone or video, and documents are prepared remotely. Michigan does require your estate plan to be signed with witnesses present, so we handle signing in person and schedule that around you.
What does an estate plan cost?
Plans are quoted as a flat fee before any work begins, so you know the number in advance rather than watching an hourly clock. The free 15-minute call is where we scope what you actually need, which is often less than people expect.