GREAT LAKES CENTER FOR ESTATE PLANNING PLC
https://mwehrlaw.com/
Areas of Focus: Family Business Planning, Kids Protection Planning, Life and Legacy Planning
Licensed States: Michigan
I am a compassionate, knowledgeable attorney who truly begins each day with the determination to be better, to serve my clients better, and to do my part to make the world a better place through service. I end everyday with the satisfaction that Iâve accomplished what I set out to do and with the knowledge that tomorrow presents opportunity to do even more.
My calling to the practice of Estate Planning occurred with the death of my son, who was 33 years old, a firefighter and paramedic and died of a workplace exposure to COVID-19. The weeks and months following his death were more difficult because he died without an Estate Plan. This burdened his family with a legal proceeding called probate and robbed us of needed opportunity to grieve in peace.
As his mother, I experienced the first-hand pain that was placed upon the people who he loved most. This was an outcome that he never would have chosen. It took six months to probate his estate which was not contested and therefore proceeded as fast as possible.
During the period of probate, my husband and I provided thousands of dollars of support to his wife who was pregnant. We paid the mortgage on his house so that his wife wouldnât lose it to foreclosure while it was in probate.
We gave her a car and thousands of dollars so that she could make ends meet. A sound estate plan, including proper title of assets, would have avoided probate altogether and saved the family thousands of dollars. Even more importantly an Estate Plan would have lessened the financial burden, stress, and worry at this time of deep grief.
Determined to help other families avoid this scenario, Mary Ann opened her practice with a focus on supporting families who want to leave their family with a plan that will work, and not just a set of documents that may or may not work. Mary Ann believes that the estate planning process is effective to keep families out of conflict and out of the courts. Mary Ann is passionate about designing fitting estate plans that will avoid probate, protect children through the use of the Kids Protection Program and preserve family legacy of your intellectual, spiritual and human assets.
I worked with Mary Ann for many years at General Motors. She is extremely talented, passionate about her work, quick to connect with others and works tirelessly to achieve the clientâs objectives. Mary Ann brings a broad breadth of experience, having worked across multiple practice areas at GM, including global, complex technology and commercial transactions. She is hardworking, diligent, focused but always has a smile and a kind word to offer. She is delightful to work with and would be a fantastic addition to any legal team.
-Jackie R
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