Month: August 2011

The Critical Importance of Estate Planning for Women

August 28, 2011 /

I recently ran across this Forbes.com article about how critically important estate planning is for women.  The article points out how women have been responsible for many accomplishments throughout time and how many of them have become quite successful by any standard.  Yet, even with their increased stature and accomplishment, it seems few have taken the time to do proper estate planning.  The article gives a very interesting statistic comparing weight loss and estate planning . . . you’ll have to read it.

Some of the reasons pointed out in the article for women to do estate planning right now are:

  • Women are more likely to live longer,
  • Married women are more likely to outlive their spouse than are men,
  • “Traditional” estate planning seems to minimize the role of women in the planning, and
  • Your children could very well be lost in the shuffle and end up with caregivers you would not want if something happened to you.

As a Grand Rapids, Mi estate planning lawyer many of my clients have expressed one or more of the above concerns when discussing their planning.  As with most estate planning articles I read, Ms. Jacobs points out the importance of naming guardians in your Will for your minor children.  And like most articles, she stops there.  Well, if you want to help ensure that your children don’t end up in the arms of strangers for any period of time, you need to do much more than just put guardian nominations in your Will.  That’s why all of my clients with minor children have a Children Protection Plan.

And is typical of estate planning articles, the focus is on financial assets.  No matter what your age, children or no children, married or not married, you should look far beyond the financial assets and work with a Michigan estate planning attorney who can help you plan for your Whole Family Wealth – not just what you have but also who you are!  All women have valuable values, insights, stories and experiences that should be shared with family, friends and acquaintances.  And yet, the one thing that is lost when someone passes away – the non-financial assets – is the thing that “traditional” estate planners overlook.

To all the women reading this, please read the article.  Then read it again in light of this blog post.  After reading both, why wouldn’t you “take charge” and move forward with your estate planning?  Your family’s future could very well depend on you!

Michael Lichterman is an estate planning and business planning attorney who helps families and business owners create a lasting legacy by planning for their Whole Family Wealth™.  This goes beyond merely planning for finances – it’s about who your are and what’s important to you.  He focuses on estate and asset protection planning for  the “experienced” generation, the “sandwich generation” (caring for parents and children), doctors/physicians, nurses, lawyers, dentists, professionals with minor children, family owned businesses and pet planning.  He takes the “counselor” part of attorney and counselor at law very seriously, and enjoys creating life long relationships with his clients – many of which have become great friends.

What Is a Michigan Benefit Corporation?

August 21, 2011 /

Short answer – nothing . . . yet.  You see, as a Grand Rapids, Michigan business lawyer I try to keep my “ear to the ground” when it comes to the future of business law – both here in Grand Rapids, Mi and nationally.  There seems to be a growing national trend for state business laws to allow a “Benefit Corporation.”  Five states already have such laws and Michigan is one of six states currently considering enacting B Corporation laws.

Generally speaking you can currently form two types of Corporations in Michigan – for profit or non profit.  Yes, there are more, but those are the two most common.  For profit Corporations can then elect to be treated as either a C Corporation or an S Corporation for tax purposes.  Please note that you don’t “form” a C Corporation or S Corporation – that is a tax election (and a topic for a future blog post).

Benefit Corporations would function the same as C Corporations in terms of taxation, but would give businesses the fiduciary duty to consider non-financial interest when making decisions and require accountability through annual reporting.  This is mainly accomplished and carried out by appointing a “Benefit Director.”  The driving cause behind the Benefit Corporation is providing a way for business Corporations to further environmental, sustainability and other goals without running afoul of Director fiduciary responsibilities.

You see, Directors are legally obligated to act in the best interest of the Corporation’s shareholders.  This could leave them open to the threat of lawsuit from one or more shareholders if they make a decision that is more mission driven (e.g. good for the community with potentially little or no benefit to the shareholders).  Forming as a Benefit Corporation would not only allow for those types of “greater good” decisions but also hold them accountable via a Benefit Director and Benefit Officer(s), annual reporting and a shareholder right to enforce a higher standard of action.

If you are interested in reading the proposed legislation, you can find it here: Senate Bill 359, Senate Bill 360, House Bill 4615, and House Bill 4616.

I can see this being of particular interest here in West Michigan.  We have a remarkable reputation for incorporating sustainability into our businesses and lives and for having a focus on the “greater good.”  I’m looking forward to monitoring developments on Benefit Corporations in Michigan and will post again with any updates.

Michael Lichterman is a relationship-based business attorney who leverages his business, marketing and legal knowledge to help business owners and entrepreneurs create a Foundation for Business Success™.  This goes beyond merely drafting a set of documents – it’s about  proactively preparing the business and the business owner for continued growth while remembering the “human side” of running a business.  He best serves small business owners (less than 50 employees) and entrepreneurs.  He takes the “counselor” part of attorney and counselor at law very seriously, and enjoys creating life long relationships with his clients  and their businesses – many of which have become great friends.

3 Critical Documents Every College Student Needs

August 14, 2011 /

I’m constantly reading books, articles and blog posts in the national media as well as those by colleagues of mine.  I recently ran across this terrific post by my colleague Rania Combs.   If the name sound familiar, it should.  This isn’t the first post I’ve referenced by Rania.  There was this post several months ago.

Many people think they need kids, money or age to need estate planning.  As I referenced in this post, everyone has an estate and needs estate planning – that’s why the government made one for you.  That includes college student.  That’s why Rania’s post caught my eye.  Check this Facebook post out:

That is a real Facebook post that starts off Rania’s post.  I’m not going to re-hash the whole post here because I think it is well written and you should read it in it’s entirety.  I will point out the 3 key planning documents every student needs before going back to school:

(1) Durable Power of Attorney
(2) Medical Power of Attorney / Patient Advocate Designation
(3) HIPAA Release / Authorization

Don’t let your college student’s emergency care be restricted by school policy.  Call us today at 616-827-7596 to make sure these critical documents are in place.  And if you have questions, call or email us – we’re happy to help.

Michael Lichterman is an estate planning and business planning attorney who helps families and business owners create a lasting legacy by planning for their Whole Family Wealth™.  This goes beyond merely planning for finances – it’s about who your are and what’s important to you.  He focuses on estate and asset protection planning for  the “experienced” generation, the “sandwich generation” (caring for parents and children), doctors/physicians, nurses, lawyers, dentists, professionals with minor children, family owned businesses and pet planning.  He takes the “counselor” part of attorney and counselor at law very seriously, and enjoys creating life long relationships with his clients – many of which have become great friends.

The Importance of Updating and Reviewing Your Estate Plan

August 7, 2011 /

As a Grand Rapids estate planning attorney I am privileged to meet with great families and to hear their stories.  Some of those stories are just starting, some have a good portion already written, and some have been finished.  If you’re familiar with me or my previous posts, you will understand why the stories are so important to me and to the type of planning I work on with clients (read previous post here).

This past week I met with a couple that has a truly remarkable life story.  We spent the better part of our meeting having them share the story they’ve written so far and how we could make sure their estate plan would help them write the rest of their story during their life and after they pass on.

During the conversation I discovered that they had previously done planning with another attorney over 20 years ago.  And guess what?  Their plan had not been looked at, reviewed or revised since then.  Some of the documents couldn’t even be found.  Now this didn’t surprise me in and of itself.  I’ve met with many wonderful families that took their estate plan documentation home from their attorney’s office, stuck it on a shelf, let it gather dust and never thought of it again.  There was no followup from their attorney other than they typical statement that “you should review your plan every 3 to 5 years, so give me a call then and we’ll review it.”

Yet for these great folks (and the others whose plans I’ve reviewed) time marched on.  Their life changed, the law changed, their assets changed and the life story they are writing changed.  In this particular case, the life story changed A LOT!  So much so that they asked me, “our current plan is so far off base now, can we just go ahead and trash it and start over?”

After careful review and discussion of their 20+ year old plan, we did just that.  We spent the next several hours designing a plan that was based on their story – their past, their present and their hopes for the future.  And with a plan tailored to their specific story, they have added peace of mind.

But we didn’t stop there.  They were delighted to hear about the Lichterman Law Difference and how we include ongoing 3 year reviews in all of our planning levels.  Yes, that’s right.  For no extra charge we followup with them every 3 years to review their plan, their story and how both relate to current law at that time.  The key is that we followup with them every three years.

I know how life can be and more importantly, that you have a life!  It doesn’t surprise me that few families review their plan every 3 to 5 years.  Life is busy and it gets pushed to the side, if it’s even a thought.  And yet here I am, an attorney whose passion is estate planning and I’m thinking about it every day.  Seems like a no-brainer that I should followup with them.  And that way you can enjoy life and continue writing your life story.

The key to the story is this – you have a story you are writing as you live your life, don’t let the story be tarnished by not having an estate plan or, potentially worse, having one that becomes “stale” and fails when it is needed most.  Why wouldn’t you give us a call to ensure you have a plan the carries out your story (or revise your plan to help it “catch up”)?  Call us at 616-827-7596 today!