George Strander, Ingham Co. Probate Register, brings helpful hints, rule changes to ICBA Probate Section

By Roberta M. Gubbins Legal News "Every December we can count on George Strander, Court Administrator and Probate Register for Ingham County to come and give us an update on what we are doing right or wrong in the Probate Court," Ryan Wilson said introducing him to the members of the ICBA Probate Section. The luncheon meeting was held on December 15th at the Michael Franck Building in Lansing. "May your Christmas tree not have forms, court rules, or legislation under it but something more interesting, but that is what I am going to talk about today," said Strander. Probate court rule changes and suggested amendments: Strander began with the changes to the probate court rules that became effective May 1, 2009. He noted the following that "have some impact on the courts": * MCR 5.306(D) Notice to creditors, the amendment takes the court out of the process, stating that a claim shall be presented to the Personal Representative (PR) or the attorney; if the claim is filed with the court, a copy must be sent to the PR * MCR 5.125(B) a section (5) was added and is a huge change for attorneys and the court. Before when you had a deceased heir of an estate, you had a problem of who gets notice for that person. What (5) does is to allow PR to use the heirs of the estate and any known devises as those to be notified. If none exists, then the Attorney General receives notice. * MCR 5.125(C) (32)--I think this will be changed but right now we do have a rule to identify persons interested in a proceeding affecting a trust, which includes the current trustee, the trust beneficiaries, proposed successor trustee and other persons affected. * MCR 5.403(C) and (D) require that requests for temporary guardians for an alleged incapacitated person or a minor "shall specify in detail the emergency situation requiring a temporary guardian. * MCR 5.411 is a new rule relating to the Bond of a Conservator; "In all conservatorships where there are unrestricted assets, the court may require a bond." Significant new or revised forms: * The accounts forms (PC 583/584), both long and short, are changed to have a line indicated on the front which will say 'investment gain on one side and investment loss' on the other; if you have an asset which is not leaving the estate but you are going to re-value it, that is the place where you can do it. The long form will now specify that it covers not only sale of assets but also other losses such as a home lost through foreclosure. * Supplemental Testimony (PC566) is now titled "Supplemental testimony to identify non-heir devisees where you can list those persons. * New form: PC 620-tracks EPIC and allows for informal actions for successor PR in cases of death or resignation. * Several of the guardianship and conservatorship petitions have reformulated grids to identify interested persons with addresses, phone numbers, relationship and date of birth if a minor. Legislation: Strander presented the group with a list of introduced and enacted bills. Of particular interest were: * HB 4331--This bill has been introduced. Probate courts don't like it too much. It requires that a Power of Attorney made by a person over 60 or by a "vulnerable adult" shall be deposited in the Probate Court and kept for safekeeping. The fee is $35.00 all of which goes to the Vulnerable Adult Protection Fund. "Is that a fund-raiser?" asked an attorney, getting laughs from the group. * HB 5196--Introduced, The EPIC power of attorney (POA) statutes would be repealed and replaced with this act, which gives jurisdiction over POAs to the family court. * HB 5246--effective July 1, 2010, which gives the funeral homes the right to properly dispose of cremated remains if it is over six months since the cremation and proper notice has been sent to the decision makers. * SB 387 is the new trust code, which will go into effect April 1, 2010. * 2009 PA 46, Article VII which includes many changes to the trust provisions, some of the court related changes are: * Continuing court supervision is not presumed and must be ordered * Trust administrators and recipients of trust distributions are now under the personal jurisdiction of the court * Venue for trust proceedings is more complicated. * A party's objection can prevent the court hearing a matter Helpful hints: Strander's list of helpful tips for working with the Ingham County Probate Court included mention of Online Court Services through which individuals can pay inventory fees, look up cases, and check court schedules. He reminded the lawyers "when they are the attorney of record in a file, they will continue to be so until the file is closed, your client is discharged or an order is entered removing you from the case." "It is possible to go online to calculate estate inventory fees," he said. "Go right on our website, we are linked in to the Kalamazoo County webpage because they spent the money to create this inventory fee calculation engine, which you can use to figure out the fee. You should have a death certificate to open an estate but if it is not yet available, you can use an obituary. We need original wills if you want informal administration." The next meeting of the Probate Section will be held on January 19th. There will be a panel discussion of services in the area, including a professor working with 60 plus law clinic, the long-term ombudsman for Michigan and a representative from Elder Advocates of Michigan. They will discuss who their target clientele is and the services offered by their respective organizations. They will also take questions from the group. Published: Thu, Dec 24, 2009

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