Elder Law Attorneys in Troy, Michigan

What Michigan Elder Law Covers

Medicaid Planning and Medicaid Crisis Intervention

Michigan Medicaid for long-term care is administered by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) under rules that include a five-year look-back period, specific asset exemptions, and spousal impoverishment protections. The rules change frequently, and what a neighbor or co-worker experienced with Medicaid five years ago may not reflect current eligibility requirements. Proactive planning, done years before care is needed, opens options that are not available in a crisis. Crisis planning, done after a sudden hospitalization or nursing home admission, still produces real results when handled by attorneys who understand MDHHS procedures.

BRMM's Medicaid planning attorneys work with both situations. The goal in either case is protecting the most assets possible within the boundaries Michigan law permits, while ensuring the person receiving care qualifies for and maintains benefits.

Living Probate and Powers of Attorney Under Michigan Law

Michigan law does not allow a family member to manage a loved one's financial or medical affairs simply because they are a spouse or adult child. Without a properly executed Durable Power of Attorney, a person who becomes incapacitated is subject to Living Probate, a court process under the Michigan Estates and Protected Individuals Code (EPIC), MCL 700.1101 et seq., in which the Oakland County Probate Court appoints a guardian or conservator to make decisions on the incapacitated person's behalf.

Living Probate is slow, public, costly, and strips the incapacitated person of a range of legal rights until the court process concludes. Michigan law also uses the term "Patient Advocate" rather than "healthcare proxy" or "healthcare power of attorney" for the document that authorizes medical decision-making, as defined under MCL 700.5506. These Michigan-specific distinctions matter when documents are drafted. BRMM's attorneys prepare Durable Powers of Attorney and Patient Advocate designations correctly under current Michigan law, removing the risk of a document failing when it is most needed.

Long-Term Care and Nursing Home Planning

Medicare covers a limited window of nursing home care: typically 20 days at full cost after a qualifying hospital stay, with partial coverage for up to 80 additional days. After that, the cost shifts entirely to the patient unless Medicaid eligibility is established. Private-pay nursing home rates in the Troy and Oakland County area frequently exceed $10,000 per month. Some facilities encourage families to commit to private-pay arrangements without explaining that Medicaid eligibility may be available as an alternative.

The elder law attorneys at BRMM help families evaluate nursing home contracts, understand what Medicare and Medicaid will and will not cover, and structure their assets in advance to protect a lifetime of savings from being exhausted by care costs. The earlier planning begins, the more options remain available. Visit the firm's nursing home planning page for a full overview of what this process involves.

Estate Planning in Oakland County

BRMM's estate planning practice covers wills, living trusts, powers of attorney, special needs trusts, veterans planning, and retirement planning for individuals and families in Troy, Bloomfield Hills, Birmingham, Rochester Hills, and throughout Oakland County. Because BRMM's estate planning attorneys are also elder law attorneys, their plans address aging and incapacity as directly as they address death, producing plans that function as intended across every phase of life rather than only at its end.

Michigan's probate system under EPIC operates through the Oakland County Probate Court for residents of this county. A properly structured estate plan using living trusts and coordinated beneficiary designations can allow an estate to pass to heirs without any court involvement, preserving privacy and reducing the time and cost of administration for surviving family members.

Probate and Litigation in the Oakland County Probate Court

When an estate must pass through probate, or when a will or trust is disputed, BRMM's probate and litigation attorneys represent personal representatives, trustees, heirs, and beneficiaries in proceedings before the Oakland County Probate Court. The firm handles contested matters including will contests, undue influence claims, trustee removal petitions, guardianship and conservatorship disputes, and claims involving financial exploitation of vulnerable adults.

Andrew Mayoras and Danielle Mayoras have written and lectured extensively on probate litigation and estate disputes. The firm's special needs planning attorneys also advise families on structuring inheritances for beneficiaries with disabilities in ways that preserve government benefit eligibility.

Serving Troy, Oakland County, and Southwest Florida

The firm's Michigan office is located at 2525 Crooks Road, Suite 110, Troy, MI 48084 and serves clients throughout Oakland County, Macomb County, and the greater Metro Detroit area. BRMM also maintains a Florida office serving clients in the Sarasota and Southwest Florida region at (941) 222-2199, providing Michigan and Florida residents with coordinated planning across both states when their lives and assets span the two. Call (248) 213-9514 or contact the firm online to schedule a free consultation.