Finding an attorney you trust to protect your family and your valuable assets truly matters. At Cottrell Law, we know firsthand the challenges faced by individuals and families dealing with legal issues surrounding their families and their assets — and how to help.

We take great pride in being able to assist and support you with a wide range of attorney services related to estate planning and elder law. We strive to give you the peace of mind of knowing you have a place to go to get the help you need. Whether you are currently dealing with a legal issue, want to protect yourself and your family ahead of time or you simply want to know your options — we are here to help. 

We specialize in a variety of estate planning and elder law services, including:

Grand Rapids Estate Planning

While most individuals who care about protecting their loved ones and assets need a Grand Rapids Estate Plan, many fail to understand the risks of not having the right plan in place.

There are many legal strategies involved in estate planning, including wills, revocable living trusts, irrevocable trusts, durable powers of attorney and health care documents. Learn more about Grand Rapids estate planning here.

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Grand Rapids Elder Law

When a spouse, family member or parent needs help, finding the right support and advice is crucial to making smart decisions. Talking to an experienced elder law attorney can make all the difference. 

The compassionate and knowledgeable attorneys at Cottrell Law will work with you to protect your loved one’s best interests. Whether you need help with estate planning, medicaid issues, probate administration, Medicaid planning, long-term care needs, asset protection or other related legal issues, our firm is here to get through the complexities and help you find solutions. Learn more about Grand Rapids elder law here.

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Grand Rapids Specialty Trusts 

If something happened to you today, what would happen to your possessions? Have you made any type of arrangements to ensure they make it into the hands of the ones who will value or protect them?

Whether we are talking about a pet or guns — Cottrell Law has the experience you need to properly plan for the future ownership of these valuable assets. Learn more about Grand Rapids specialty trusts here.

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Grand Rapids Asset Protection

As a business owner, you treasure the fruits of your labor — the valuable assets you built on the blood, sweat and tears shed along your journey.

Asset protection planning involves making prudent decisions today to protect yourself, your business — and your hard-earned assets — from loss due to lawsuits, creditors or bankruptcies. This form of legal planning remains prudent for professionals and business owners, whose personal assets could be at risk due the nature of their employment. Learn more about Grand Rapids asset protection here.

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Grand Rapids Probate

The death of a loved one conjures up feelings of shock, sadness and other forms of emotional stress. Many individuals fall into further distress when faced with the probate process and the related asset and guardianship issues.

Probate and estate administration define the processes through which estate assets are transferred after death. When probate avoidance planning has not been implemented prior to death, the state will require a probate court proceeding if the deceased was a resident or owned assets in the state.  Learn more about Grand Rapids probate here.

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Grand Rapids Pet Trusts

If any of your closest friends have feathers, fins or fur, you are responsible for their room, board and ongoing veterinarian care. If something happened to you today, what would happen to your pets? What arrangements have you made for these friends?

A pet trust may be created under a last will and testament or revocable living trust. But make sure you set aside an appropriate amount of property to fund your pet trust – this will be essential to its success. For example, a horse not only eats like a horse but has an average life expectancy of 25 to 40 years. By contrast, a great dane has a much smaller appetite and a much shorter life expectancy of 7 to 10 years. Learn more about Grand Rapids pet trusts here.

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Grand Rapids Gun Trusts

If you are a gun owner in Michigan, you need to know your rights of ownership and know how to properly purchase and protect these valuable assets.

A gun trust can be useful not only for the purchase and possession of NFA guns or devices but also for transfer of your firearms to your beneficiaries someday. The orderly and lawful transition of firearms ownership is something every gun owner should seriously consider as part of his or her estate plan. We are very experienced in advising our clients who own firearms on all the legal issues involved. Learn more about Grand Rapids gun trusts here.

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Grand Rapids Medicaid Planning

Sometimes change strikes without warning. If you or a loved one has experienced a sudden illness or serious accident, you understand how abruptly everything can change. Finding and affording quality care on short notice can be stressful and draining. Cottrell Law can help you determine the best options for care and how to qualify for Medicaid to help finance them.

Long-term care is expensive, and these costs only continue to increase. In Michigan, the annual cost of care may double in the next 20 years. With improved medical care, the average life span of adults continues to increase — translating into more years of care at increasingly higher costs. Learn more about Grand Rapids medicaid planning here.

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For more information about estate planning and elder law from the attorneys at Cottrell Law, please contact us here or call us directly at 616.560.3843.