By Jehan Gibson-Crump
For most people, conversations about death are not easy to have. That uneasiness leads to a failure to plan. That failure to plan becomes a one-way ticket to probate. “Probate” generally refers to the process through which a deceased person’s property is distributed. Property can mean a home, a vehicle, a business, financial accounts and more. Probate is necessary when someone passes away with property in their name alone, with no joint owner or living beneficiary. Probate Court is the court that handles this process, among other things. The process can be lengthy, confusing and costly. In addition to those stressors, property often passes differently than the dearly departed would have wanted.
If you are not intentional about getting your affairs in order, the law will have the final say on what happens. This means that the law will determine who will handle your affairs. The law will also determine how your property is distributed. This may or may not be in line with your wishes. By way of example, let’s say we have Donna. Donna is 53 years old and divorced. She has no children. Her parents and two of her older siblings have passed away. She has two living siblings and eight nieces and nephews, who are the children of her deceased siblings. She does not have a close relationship with many of those nieces and nephews.
Donna does not think much about getting her affairs in order because she believes she has time. After all, longevity runs in her family — her parents made it to their mid-nineties. When she gets around to it, she plans on telling her goddaughter Teri that she wants her property split between Teri and Donna’s two living siblings, after a small donation is made to her longtime church home.
Unexpectedly, Donna passes away in a car accident on the way home from work one day. She never got her affairs in order, so she has no legally recognized documents that direct what she wants to happen with her property. Her house, bank accounts and her 401(k) are in her name alone. Guess who the law says will receive Donna’s property after the probate process concludes? Her two living siblings and all eight of her nieces and nephews. That means TEN people will split what she has, when it is all said and done. This is clearly not what she wanted. Her goddaughter and her church will not receive anything because that is not what the law allows in the absence of a valid legal document. If Donna had taken the steps to plan and get her affairs in order, this could have been avoided.
So, what does planning mean? What does getting your affairs in order mean? It means having an estate plan done — no matter what you have. There is a widespread myth that you must be rich to make an estate plan. This is false. Your estate is whatever you have. If that is a checking account and a car, that is your estate. You need to plan for it accordingly.
Wayne County Probate Court is the busiest probate court in the state of Michigan. In 2024, the court handled 11,597 new filings and scheduled 29,649 hearings. This is just one county court in one state. A number of those filings were for people just like Donna. The good thing is that you do not have to add to these staggering numbers in the future. Consult with an estate planning attorney to determine exactly what documents you need based on your situation. Do not leave things to chance.
Attorney Jehan Crump-Gibson is the co-founder and Managing Partner at Great Lakes Legal Group PLLC, where she concentrates her practice in probate and estate planning, business and real estate matters. Great Lakes Legal Group is a growing, black-owned law firm serving clients throughout the state of Michigan and in federal courts nationwide. Jehan has served as a Faculty Member for the National Business Institute and the Institute of Continuing Legal Education, focusing on business, probate, and estate planning matters. She is a legal analyst with Fox2 Detroit’s The Noon and the author of the book A Matter of Life and Death.