Estate Planning Lawyer in Sterling Heights, MI

What do Sterling Heights families most need to protect?

Usually the house and, often, a family business. About three in four Sterling Heights homes are owner-occupied and nearly one in five residents is 65 or older, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That's a lot of paid-off homes heading toward probate and nursing home bills.

Sterling Heights is also a diverse city: more than a third of residents speak a language other than English at home. Many families here are multigenerational, with parents, children and sometimes a family business under one plan. Keeping the business and the house apart from each other's risks, and making sure everyone understands the plan, matters as much as the documents. Rutkowski Law Firm handles estate planning, living trusts, Lady Bird deeds, powers of attorney, Medicaid and nursing home planning, asset protection and guardianship and conservatorship.

The Asset Shield™ is the complete plan: your trust, deeds, powers of attorney and beneficiary forms, drafted, signed and funded so they work together.

What does "done for you" mean at Rutkowski Law Firm?

It means Sterling Heights families leave with a finished plan, not a to-do list. We move your home and accounts into your trust, record your deed with the county, send the beneficiary-change forms and confirm in writing that your plan is done.

For most Sterling Heights families that means recording a Lady Bird deed or trust deed with the Macomb County Register of Deeds, retitling the accounts, and, where there's a business, making sure the plan covers who runs it and who owns it if something happens.

Most Michigan estate planning attorneys hand Sterling Heights families a binder and leave the bank visits and county filings to them. An unfunded trust doesn't keep anything out of probate court, which is why we treat funding as part of the plan, not an extra. You won't leave with homework.

What if the family is already in a crisis?

Call us. Rutkowski Law Firm has turned around emergency powers of attorney by the next day, with a notary sent to wherever the parent is, such as a hospital room at Henry Ford Macomb Hospital or Ascension Macomb-Oakland.

If a parent can no longer make decisions and there's no power of attorney in place, we handle guardianship and conservatorship. Our guardianship fee includes ongoing guidance and a yearly check-in, so the family isn't left on its own after the court date. If a parent already needs nursing home care, Michigan Medicaid looks back five years at gifts and transfers, so talk to us before moving any money. Crisis planning can often still protect part of the savings.

How does the process work?

Every Sterling Heights plan follows the same four steps, and the Rutkowski Law Firm team stays with you through all of them: a Vision Consultation, a design meeting, the signing, and the funding. Nothing is left for you to finish on your own.

1. Vision Consultation. Chris Pletkovic or Josh Heppner from our Customer Success team asks what you're protecting and who you're protecting it for, then lays out the options that fit, with the price for each, before you decide anything.
2. Design. Our attorneys and paralegals, under founding attorney Michael L. Rutkowski, build the plan around your family, your property and your accounts.
3. Signing. By secure video with a notary, or in person at our Troy or Rochester office.
4. Funding. We move your assets into the trust, record the deeds and deliver the finished documents.

You'll have a client portal for your matter, so you can see where things stand at any point. And we keep improving the process: Michael Rutkowski builds the firm's client management system himself, and the team keeps refining each step.

Schedule your Vision Consultation.

Do I have to come to an office?

No. Most Sterling Heights families work with us entirely by secure video, including the signing. To meet face to face, we'll see you at our Troy office at 801 W. Big Beaver Road or our Rochester office at 312 East Street.

Phones are answered 24 hours a day; the offices are open weekdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Video works well for multigenerational families: parents, adult children and anyone helping with the business can join the same meeting from wherever they are.

Which communities do you serve near Sterling Heights?

We serve Sterling Heights, Shelby Township, Macomb Township, Clinton Township, Utica and Warren, and families anywhere in Michigan by video. Estates in this area are handled by the Macomb County Probate Court in Mount Clemens.

Rutkowski Law Firm meets clients in person at its Troy and Rochester offices and works with families anywhere in Michigan by secure video.

See every area Rutkowski Law Firm serves.