JACKSON AREA ESTATE PLANNING COUNCIL

Program:

Michelle will contrast small estate processes with probate estate proceedings and will discuss which clients are best suited for a small estate and the level of involvement by the attorney’s office. Options such as the Certificate of Heir process and the Affidavit of Decedent's Successor for Delivery of Certain Assets Owned by Decedent form will be discussed and there will be a review of the process for handling a small estate in probate court, including filing a petition for assignment and using summary proceedings. Michelle will also discuss the pitfalls of small estate processes.

Secretary Note: For our non-attorney members, this will be a great program to learn about the different options available for your clients/customers that may have a probate avoidance plan set up but have to address certain small(er) assets that may be left to transfer, or accidentally omitted from the planning process.

Biography:

Michelle Lane is a graduate of Ohio Northern University and the University of Toledo College of Law and is admitted to practice in Michigan and Ohio. She is a member of the Probate and Estate Planning Section,  the Elder Law and Disability Rights Section and the Religious Liberty Law Section of the Michigan State Bar. She is also a member of the Ingham County Bar Association and the Greater Lansing Estate Planning Council. Michelle is the editor of the Michigan Basic Practice Handbook, Chapter 4 for the Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE), the ICLE How-To-Kit: Probate a Small Estate, a presenter for ICLE and serves on the ICLE Probate & Estate Advisory Board. She has completed ICLE’s Probate and Estate Planning Certification program. Michelle has been a regular presenter for Michigan State University Federal Credit Union (MSUFCU) on estate planning and trust administration matters and a past presenter for NBI on estate and trust administration matters. Michelle is the recipient of the 2020 “Camille S. Abood Distinguished Volunteer Award” awarded by the Ingham County Bar Association. She was recognized among the “Women Lawyer Stars” in 2021 by the WLAM MidMichigan Region and she was named one of the 2021 “Leaders in the Law” by Michigan Lawyers Weekly. Michelle is a member of the Bar of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Michelle focuses her practice in the areas of estate planning and estate and trust administration.