In 1987, plaintiff borrowed $20,000 from defendant’s predecessor in interest. Plaintiff secured the debt with a mortgage on plaintiff’s land. In 1994, the parties signed an extension of the mortgage agreement, and in 1999,...
Wills usually go through without a problem. Well over 90% of wills have no issue making it through probate. However, there are several grounds you may have to contest a will. As a beneficiary, or someone who would gain from a will, there are legal...
The child was born to defendant in April 2018. The birth certificate did not identify the father, nor was an affidavit or acknowledgment of paternity executed. After various legal troubles and intervention by the Department of Health and...
This case arises from an Adult Protective Services (APS) petition for guardianship of the ward. The ward lived with her son and his wife. APS’s petition filed in June 2018 claimed that the ward had dementia, was being left...
This divorce action commenced in 2011 and the parties reached a settlement in 2013. Plaintiff submitted a proposed judgment under the seven-day rule, MCR 2.602(B)(3). Defendant filed objections.
Judgment of Divorce Entered
Ultimately, at an...
Plaintiff, defendant’s former employer, filed a complaint alleging, that defendant breached the parties’ Confidentiality Agreement. Specifically, plaintiff alleged that around the time defendant resigned from his position, he...
When a relationship just isn’t working, there is power in ending a bad situation. Many people rush to get a divorce, but there are other options for couples to explore. Legal separation is another avenue people use to gain distance from each...
Though never married, the parties in this case share a son. On November 10, 2014, plaintiff filed a paternity complaint, claiming defendant as the child’s father, and alleging that defendant was of sufficient ability to provide support. On...
The decedent died intestate in 2017, leaving eight children as his descendants. The probate court appointed a personal representative (PR) of the estate.
Intestate
If you die without a will then you died intestate. Without a validly executed...
A great U.S. freedom is the ability to drive the open roads. However, every year there are more than 20,000 car accidents in Michigan. Many of these accidents come from distracted driving and could have been avoided. Distracted driving is such a...
This case arises from two incidents of domestic violence between defendant and the victim when they were alone in the victim’s home in Michigan. In September, the victim got away from defendant and ran to the home of a neighbor, who called the...
In this case, the parties divorced by consent judgment in February 2018. Under the divorce judgment, the parties shared joint legal custody and plaintiff had primary physical custody of their minor child, who has special needs.
In the divorce...
In July 2017, the parties entered into an agreement for plaintiff to purchase the assets of defendant, C Corp. The Asset Purchase Agreement stated: On the Effective Date, Plaintiff will submit to C Corp by wire transfer the sum of twenty-two...
D and C married on October 4, 2008. The couple has no children together. During the marriage, the parties lived together in a home purchased by D before the marriage that had become marital property through C’s financial investments. They each...
In this case, B and S’s relationship began to deteriorate after AB’s birth. Money was tight and B claimed that S rejected B’s requests that she return to work. S, on the other hand, accused B of belittling her role as a...
The parties, R, B, and F are siblings whose father, the testator M, devised for the assets of his trust to be distributed among them. R was appointed Personal Representative of the estate and successor trustee of the trust.
Petition for Removal...
Everyone reacts in their own way when a family member passes away. Emotions can run high, and people can react more strongly than they normally would. Some family members may feel cheated by what a will or trust grants them leading them to contest...
In June 2012, plaintiff purchased real property in Michigan. Over a year later plaintiff was arrested on federal charges related to drug trafficking. Since his arrest, plaintiff has remained incarcerated.
During his first week in jail, he was...
More and more people are conducting personal business and their social life through online applications. Email, banking, bill payment, investments, credit cards, social media and photo sharing are all types of digital assets.
Digital Assets...
During their marriage, the parties had eight children, five of whom are still minors. In the parties’ 2014 consent judgment of divorce, plaintiff was awarded primary physical custody of the children, and the parties were awarded joint...
We live in uncertain times. The COVID-19 pandemic presents a disruption to normal life and a real danger to many people, especially those who are ill or elderly.
While you take steps to protect yourself, your family, and your community,...
This action for breach of contract, negligence, and abuse of process arises from the construction of a home.
Failure to Pay Property Taxes
During the construction, plaintiff failed to pay the property taxes, and the county foreclosed on the...
The parties were never married, but they have a five-year-old daughter (ES). At the time the child was born, the parties lived in Colorado. When the child was approximately six months old, the parties agreed to a Parenting Plan in the District Court...
This case arises from decedent’s sister paying bills on his behalf before his death and requesting reimbursement from his estate on the basis of either a contractual or unjust enrichment basis.
Unjust Enrichment Basis
The sister...
This case concerns the enforceability of an amended condominium bylaw prohibiting short-term rentals where such rentals had been expressly contemplated and allowed under an existing 15-year contract between the owner of a condominium unit and a...
Getting into a car and going for a drive isn’t perfectly safe. Driving on the Michigan roads can be dangerous. Driving those same roads becomes financially dangerous if you drive without car insurance. Between fees, charges, and possible...
This probate dispute between siblings arises out of the death of their father.
Their father lived alone. In 2013, however, he asked appellee to live with him. She agreed, moving into the home in August 2013. Appellants allege that in the years...
This action involves an alleged joint venture agreement between plaintiff, defendant, and non-party R with regard to commercial real property in Detroit.
Quitclaim Deed
Plaintiff learned from a friend that a large commercial property in...
This case arises from a son’s (T) attempt to probate the estate of his mother.
Informal Probate
His mother executed a will designating T as personal representative. She later executed an amendment to her revocable trust naming T as...
Staying safe on the roads is in everyone’s best interest. However, keeping yourself or others out of danger is everyone’s responsibility. Getting a traffic ticket ends up costing drivers big time. Traffic tickets and citations cost money...
Plaintiffs purchased a home in Michigan. At the time of the sale, the owners of the home, defendants, had been suffering from dementia for several months and were living in assisted-living facilities. Their daughter, defendant L, as their power of...
In this case, defendant was found to be in possession of marijuana while confined at the County Jail. Another inmate told a corrections officer that defendant had offered her marijuana. The other inmate also overhead defendant’s phone call...
In this case, plaintiff and defendant were married for more than 19 years before filing for divorce. The parties reached a settlement agreement to all aspects of their divorce, apart from distributing plaintiff’s and defendant’s...
Relationships work well when communication is prioritized and misunderstandings can come to rapid conclusions. At some point, disputes come up needing extra effort to resolve. Construction disputes can be confusing, time-consuming, and damaging to...
Decedent died on January 9, 2017. An application for informal probate and appointment of personal representative was filed on February 17, 2017. Decedent’s final will, which was executed on March 21, 2011, was admitted to probate. In relevant...
In this contract dispute, Plaintiff is a designer and manufacturer of plastic components that are sold to manufacturers in the automotive industry. Defendant designs and installs manufacturing systems that are used to produce plastic...
Sometimes agreements don’t go as planned when both sides aren’t upfront with issues. A construction defect takes place when there is a circumstance that lowers the value of a home. Patent defects are those that anyone can see right away,...
The Plaintiffs purchased the property in question in 1992. The property is zoned C-1, commercial district, and may be used for retail sales of goods and services. From 1992 to 2006, the Plaintiffs operated a ceramics shop in the commercial building...
Plaintiff filed a motion to appoint a receiver noting that defendant had defied the court’s authority and was found in contempt, that defendant had refused to pay child support and other money owing to plaintiff, and that defendant had refused to offer any payment or plan for payment relative to his obligations.
In March 2018, defendant filed a motion to change the children’s domicile from Jackson, Michigan to Mishawaka, Indiana, a town approximately 140 miles away.
