Background: Michigan’s revocation of a devise or bequest upon divorce statute provides that the divorce or annulment of marriage revokes: (i) a disposition or appointment of property made by a divorced individual to his or her former spouse in a governing instrument and a disposition or appointment created by law or in a governing instrument […]

Take-Away: Caution needs to be exercised before a petition to remove a trustee is filed with a probate court. Courts seem to be highly reluctant to remove a trustee, even in the face of an established technical breach of trust. Background: The last few of years have been  ‘busy’ years in the Michigan Court of […]

Take-Away: A sophisticated planning technique is for a wealthy individual to fund an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT) taking back a ‘right to be repaid’ at a point far into the future. The present value of the right to be repaid is then included in the wealthy individual’s taxable estate, at a value far less […]