If you have experience in real estate, you already know how critical it is to do your due diligence before starting a new project. If you are new to developing real estate, it is smart to start learning how state and local laws will affect your projects. Zoning issues...
Divorce requires more planning than you might initially expect, both emotionally and logistically. You will not simply wake up one morning dissatisfied with your marriage and decide to file for divorce later that day. Instead, you'll probably go through different...
It’s looking like 2021 will be the year you and your spouse finally end your marriage. You anticipate that it will be a rather straightforward process because the two of you have a prenuptial agreement. However, when you dig it out of your files and look it over, you...
We believe that single parents put off estate planning due to uncertain future circumstances. Many single parents do not want to remain single forever. As such, they think they should wait to create an estate plan until they marry or acquire a long-term romantic...
When you get a financial inheritance from your parents, it can change your life. That sudden influx of money may give you enough to retire, start your own business or merely feel secure in the fact that your financial future is protected. To keep it this way, if...
Both trusts and last wills can play a central role in an estate plan. Some people use both documents, and other people pick between the two. In order to determine if a trust or a last will better suits your estate-planning needs, you have to understand the different...
If you’re planning to tell your spouse you want a divorce or you anticipate that they’re considering one, you may put some money aside in a bank account in your name. It can be wise to do that –- particularly if you’re concerned that your spouse could clean out your...
When your parents passed away, you and your siblings each inherited equal shares of the family home, some rural property that hasn’t yet been developed or a vacation home. At the time, it seemed like a great idea to keep the property and share in both its use and the...
Every family will have unique concerns that make their divorce proceedings different than those of others. Even someone else in a marriage that might seem similar on paper due to income, family size and the ages of the couple divorcing will likely have a very...
When you inherit a piece of real estate from your parents upon their passing, you may not want to keep it. Say you and your family have your own family home in Grand Rapids, and your parents lived in Traverse City, in what used to be your family cottage. They moved to...
