What is estate planning?

Estate planning is the process of creating a comprehensive strategy to manage and distribute your assets and affairs upon your incapacity or death. It involves the preparation of legal documents that outline your wishes and instructions for your property, finances, healthcare, and guardianship.

Why is estate planning important?

Estate planning is crucial because it allows you to have control over what happens to your assets and ensures that your wishes are carried out after your passing. It provides financial security for your loved ones, minimizes potential disputes, and it can help avoid the time, expenses, and headache of going through the probate process.

What are the key components of an estate plan?

An estate plan typically includes some or all of the following main documents: Trust, Last Will and Testament, Financial Power of Attorney, and Medical Power of Attorney. These documents address various aspects of your estate, including asset distribution, healthcare decisions, financial management, and guardianship for minor children.

How does the Silver Lining Estate Plans process work?

Our estate planning process is simple and efficient. After selecting your plan, we send you a questionnaire that you will fill out for us to gather the necessary information for your estate plan. Within two (2) business days of the completion of the questionnaire, our attorneys will review the information that you provide and prepare the legal documents. The documents will be sent back to you for your download, with specific instructions on how to sign the documents and any other steps that you have to take.

How can I update my estate plan?

For an estate plan created through us (a “Silver Lining Estate Plan”), you can update the documents at any time by purchasing the Estate Plan Update option through our store. This update will apply to all of your documents that you’d like to change.

Am I eligible to use the Silver Lining Estate Plan services?

We are currently only offering our estate planning services in Michigan. We plan to expand the states in which these services are offered in the near future.

How do I determine what package is right for me?

The About the Documents page provides more information about each of the estate plan documents that we offer as part of our Estate Plan Packages. If you are unsure of what is right for you, we encourage you to schedule an attorney consultation to discuss your situation with one of our attorneys.

What if I already have an estate plan from a different law firm?

If you already have an estate plan that is in place from a different law firm that needs to be updated, we encourage you to schedule an existing estate plan review or an attorney consultation to discuss your situation and needs. Often, it will be more cost-effective to purchase a new estate plan rather than have an attorney review and update an old estate plan from a different law firm. However, it is important to notify us if you already have a trust and the trust is already funded (meaning your assets are titled to the trust). In this case, the name of your new trust can match the name of your old trust, so you don’t have to go through the funding process again.

Can I designate a guardian for my minor children through your services?

Absolutely! Regardless of which Estate Plan Package you choose, we will include guardian designations for your minor children. These questions will be asked in the questionnaire. You can always contact us if you have additional questions.

What beneficiary options can I choose for my Last Will and Testament or Trust?

The standard beneficiary provision options that we provide as part of our Estate Plan Packages are listed on our Beneficiary Provision page. In addition to our standard beneficiary provision options, you have the ability to purchase a Custom Estate Plan Upgrade to customize your beneficiary provisions to match your situation.

Why can’t I purchase a stand-alone documents?

We do not currently offer stand-alone documents, because there are several problems that could arise if an individual only has one document without the others. For example, in our Trust Plans, we include a Last Will and Testament as a back-up that names your Trust as beneficiary of your Will. Essentially, with our Trust Plans, even if you forget to title an asset to your Trust during your life or through a beneficiary designation, that asset will still end up in your Trust because of the additional use of the Last Will and Testament, known as a “Pour Over” Will. On the other hand, if an individual only had a Trust, without the Pour Over Will, then the asset would not end up going to the Trust beneficiaries, and would instead be distributed pursuant to the State intestacy statutes. To avoid that scenario, we strongly recommend the use of one of our Estate Plan Packages, rather than a stand-alone document.

Are the Estate Plan Packages sufficient for my estate planning needs?

The documents that we provide in the Estate Plan Packages are documents that nearly everyone would benefit from. However, there are certain circumstances that would require additional planning to meet your needs. Examples of circumstances in which additional planning should be considered are listed in Paragraph 5 of our Terms of Service. You should review that paragraph to see if your situation fits one of those circumstances, such as if you have children from a previous marriage, if you have (or want) a prenuptial agreement, if you own a business or real estate, and if you want to disinherit a child. If you meet any of these situations, we recommend scheduling an attorney consultation or purchasing the comprehensive estate plan package.

What is the estate tax (or death tax), and will my documents provide for estate tax planning?

The Federal estate tax is a tax imposed by the IRS upon the death of multi-millionaires only (there is no longer a separate estate tax imposed by the State of Michigan). It simply does not apply to about 99.8% of the U.S. population (as of 2017 per statistics released by the U.S. Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation). The estate plans included in our packages are meant to be relatively simple; they undertake no estate tax planning for the 0.2% of the population that may need such planning. The current estate tax laws in the U.S. provide that, as of 2023, the first $12.92 million (per person) is exempt from the estate tax, meaning that anyone whose “gross estate” is valued at less than $12.92 million will not have any estate tax liability upon their death. In 2026, this exemption amount is scheduled to be reduced to about $6 million per person. Therefore, unless you expect to have more than $6 million in assets upon your death, you do not need to undertake any special estate tax planning. If you expect to be close to or above the $6 million amount at the time of your death, please Contact us and we will schedule an appointment to discuss estate tax planning options.