Essential Estate Planning Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Start

Thinking about the future can feel heavy, even a bit awkward. A little planning brings real peace of mind, and it spares your family from guesswork at the hardest moments.

At Bassett Murray Law Group, PLLC, we have spent over 30 years helping Michigan families set up plans that fit real life, including elder law, probate, and disability issues. This guide shares practical questions that help shape a plan that speaks for you, protects those you love, and keeps things running smoothly when life throws a curve.

Who Will Make Decisions If You Become Incapacitated?

Health choices and money tasks still need attention if you cannot act for yourself. Clear legal tools let someone you trust step in without delay and with real authority.

Medical Decisions and Your Patient Advocate

In Michigan, a Patient Advocate Designation allows you to choose someone you trust to make medical decisions if you are not able to speak for yourself.  The document can also say what kinds of decisions your patient advocate can make for you.  This document is also known as a Medical Power of Attorney.

A Living Will is a separate document that includes written instructions to explain your wishes for care. This may cover life-sustaining treatment, pain management, and other end-of-life decisions. Clear guidance helps your patient advocate and your medical team follow your wishes.

When choosing your patient advocate, look for someone who understands your values, can stay steady in difficult moments, and communicates well with medical providers.

Financial Powers of Attorney

A Durable Power of Attorney authorizes an agent to pay bills, handle bank accounts, sign tax returns, and manage property if you cannot. Your first pick and any backups should be organized, honest, and responsible with deadlines and details. Share where you keep records and how to reach your financial institutions, then revisit those instructions every few years.

How Will You Provide for Dependents and Vulnerable Loved Ones?

It is important to address care and financial matters for minor children and adults with disabilities who are in your care.  Children, elders, and family members with disabilities rely on the right plan, not luck. Thoughtful choices today can prevent court fights and protect benefits later on.

Guardianship for Minor Children

If you do not name a guardian, a Michigan probate judge decides who raises your child. That choice might not match your parenting style or family ties. Pick people who can give your child safety, stability, and love.  Review that choice every few years in light of changing relationships, and what is important to your children as they grow and develop their own life choices.

When comparing possible guardians, think through the points below, then talk openly with your top choice and at least one backup.

• Shared values about school, discipline, faith, and activities.
• Location, home setup, and daily routine that works for your child.
• Health, age, and long-term ability to take on parenting duties.
• Strong bond with your child and a positive relationship with your family.
• Willingness to serve and to cooperate with a separate money manager if needed.

Add short letters to your plan that describe your hopes for education, summer plans, and holiday traditions, which help your chosen guardian follow your lead.

Kids are not the only ones who need extra planning. Many families also care for adults with disabilities or aging parents.

Care for Disabled Relatives and Special Needs Beneficiaries

Our firm has long worked to secure first-rate care for seniors and people with disabilities. A Special Needs Trust can hold an inheritance for a loved one while keeping access to SSI or Medicaid under the program rules.

You choose a trustee to pay for extras like therapies, transportation, and equipment, while program benefits continue to cover basics.

Family structures differ, and legal documents must match the people you count as family.

Securing LGBTQIA+ and Blended Family Relationships

Modern families include partners, stepchildren, and chosen relatives. Michigan intestate succession rules send assets to blood and legal relatives, which can skip a partner or a stepchild. Name the people you love in your will, trust, and beneficiary forms, then add guardianship or adoption planning where it fits.

What Are Your Assets and How Should They Be Distributed?

A clear picture of your property makes planning faster, cleaner, and more effective.  Smaller items we tend to think of as insignificant may eventually end up in probate if not included in the list. Starting with a complete list often saves time and money later.

Taking a Comprehensive Asset Inventory

Write down what you own. Include: who is the owner(s), who is listed as beneficiary, approximate value, where it is held, and whether or not it is tax deferred. The list below can help you get started, and you can add more as you go.

• Real estate, including your home, cottages, timeshares, and vacant land.
• Bank accounts, CDs, brokerage accounts, and HSA balances.
• Retirement plans like 401(k)s, 403(b)s, IRAs, and pensions.
• Business interests, LLC units, stock options, and buy-sell rights.
• Life insurance, annuities, saving bonds, and payable-on-death accounts.
• Digital assets like online banking, crypto, domain names, and social media.
• Cryogenically preserved materials such as sperm, eggs, or embryos.
• Intellectual property like copyrights, patents, and artistic creations.

For digital property, name a digital fiduciary in your documents and store access directions in a secure place. Check that beneficiary designations on retirement plans and insurance match your plan to avoid surprises.

Decide who you would want to receive your assets upon your death.  The attorney will design a plan specifically for you by arranging the assets to meet your goals.  The plan may involve a combination of various tools, like a will, a trust, beneficiary designations, and joint ownership.

Choosing Between Wills and Trusts

A last will and testament states who gets your property and who handles your estate, yet it usually passes through the Michigan probate court.

A revocable living trust can receive your assets during life, then pass them directly to your beneficiaries, which often avoids the public and time-consuming parts of probate. Funding the trust during life is the step that makes the difference.

Many families use both documents, along with beneficiary designations and transfer-on-death deeds, to keep things clean and quick.

How Will You Afford Long-Term Care?

Care needs can change fast, and costs in Michigan can climb past what most families expect. Early planning gives you more choices and less stress.

Preparing for Senior Care Costs

Think about how you would pay for in-home help, assisted living, or a skilled nursing facility. Medicaid planning can be woven into your estate plan, helping protect family resources while opening the door to needed services under Michigan rules. Work with counsel to time gifts, set up allowable trusts, and follow the look-back period correctly.

Families often mix several funding sources to cover years of care without draining everything at once.

• Long-term care insurance or hybrid life policies with care riders.
• Personal savings and investment income with a monthly budget.
• Veterans benefits for those who qualify, including surviving spouses.
• Medicaid with spend-down strategies that follow state and federal rules.
• Family contributions and care agreements that set fair pay for helpers.

A written plan helps your agents know which route to try first, which assets to keep, and how to document payments correctly.

Are There Specific Legacies or End-of-Life Wishes You Want Fulfilled?

Your plan can carry more than numbers. It can pass on stories, guidance, and causes that matter to you.

Philanthropy and Sentimental Belongings

Decide if you want to support certain charities through a direct gift, percentages, or a charitable trust. A letter of instruction can list who receives heirlooms, photos, and collectibles, while an ethical will shares lessons and values in your own voice. These personal touches prevent disputes and add heart to your plan.

Good communication keeps your plan from sitting in a drawer while people guess what you want.

Communicating Your Plan

Tell your personal representative, trustees, and healthcare agents where documents are stored and how to reach your legal team.

Give them a short contact sheet with account locations, policy numbers, and your preferred funeral or memorial choices. Revisit your plan after marriage, divorce, birth, a big move, new property, or a major shift in savings.

Secure Your Peace of Mind with Bassett Murray Law Group, PLLC

At Bassett Murray Law Group, PLLC, we focus on promoting humanity, health, and happiness by building plans that reflect your real-world needs. If you want a team that listens and helps you feel protected, reach out and schedule a conversation with attorneys who are in the peace of mind business. We are invested in improving your life and the lives of those you love.

If you would like to review your current plan or get started, call 734-930-9200 in Ann Arbor or 231-427-2292 for our Petoskey office, or visit our contact page to schedule a consultation. We welcome your questions and are here to help you take the next steps with confidence.