It was wonderful working with everyone here on my aunts trust. Thank you all for your patience!read more

Very professional,knowledgeable, took great care of our family, they also spent a lot of time with…read moreus going over options and answering the phone and returning calls.

Nearly two years ago my grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. About 6-8 months ago it got to…read morethe point where we knew we were going to have to start thinking about additional care, power of attorney, etc. My mom, aunt and I are smart ladies but this was beyond anything we were familiar with so I knew we were going to need a little help. I did a bit of research and found Jim Schuster's office. Their help has been instrumental in getting everything we need in order: from getting financial and medical power of attorneys set up to financial dealings in order, and (most importantly) the huge medicaid application. Medicaid was instrumental in getting him into a full time care facility since my grandmother was no longer able to take care of him at home. Happy and relieved to report that everything went smoothly, the application was approved so his space in his facility is secure, everything else has been verified and taken care of, and we're feeling a lot more relaxed about the situation. Definitely still sad, but at least we know all the business we needed to take care of has been handled legally, quickly, and expertly. Grateful for their help, indeed.

My father was diagnosed with dementia in 2010, and when it got to the point that my mother (in MI)…read moreneeded guidance with regard to memory care facility issues, Medicare, Medicaid and other financial considerations, Jim was a great help. My mother agreed that it was well worth her time and money to consult with Jim.

This is a review about my family's experiences with the Rutkowski Law Firm in regards to estate…read moreplanning. More specifically, the discussions around preparing and executing a trust. My wife and I recently became parents and we were thinking about what how we should protect our assets and what we should have in place to distribute them should, heaven forbid, something happens to us. We did some research and found that a trust is the best route to take because if we did a will, then it would have to go through a time-consuming and expensive probate process. We also discovered that a trust sets up directions for our financial institutions that saves time and money and it would ensure that the things we have would get in the hands of the people we love. Without a trust, then the state of Michigan would be the ones deciding who gets our assets and how much they would receive. We searched for law firms in the area and we eventually were referred by a friend to the Rutkowski Law Firm. So we called and set up an appointment and met with business owner and attorney, Mike Rutkowski. We were greeted by Office Manager, Coleen at the Bloomfield office and she was warm and friendly. She showed us to the board room where we would meet Mike and she explained that he would go over estate planning. She offered us some water or coffee, so we asked for water and she brought us a couple bottles of water. You can tell a lot about a business by the demeanor of its employees and Coleen was a happy person with a great attitude, so obviously we were in good hands. The law firm was extremely clean too, which means the employees obviously take pride in their work. Everyone was professional, polite and friendly. Mike walked in and greeted us by introducing himself and giving my wife and I a firm handshake with eye contact. We exchanged some small talk and eventually got down to business. We found that it was easy to relate to Mike because he was clearly a family man based on our small talk and family is most important to us. He reviewed the differences between a will and a trust and the importance of a trust and advised that it's a set of instructions for what to do with our assets should something happen to my wife and I. The following pieces would fall within the trust: 1) financial power of attorney, 2) healthcare power of attorney, 3) will, and 4) trust. He explained each of these four pieces in great detail so we could make an educated decision on who we wanted to designate for every piece and at what percentages, if applicable. Mike reviewed the estate planning questionnaire that he gave to us and explained each question and the importance of each answer. More specifically, he spoke to the why, which is extremely important to me-why we were having the meeting, why we were setting up a trust, etc. Then we discussed next steps and the next step was to have a conference call with Client Relations Manager, Trisha. Once we got the details of the trust ironed out with her, then would meet to review and sign the trust. We set up the time and date of the conference call with Coleen and we were on our way. Trisha and I talked on the phone for about fifteen minutes and she asked me who I wanted for each piece of the trust and who would receive our assets and at what percentages. She advised that she was going to e-mail my answers to me so I could verify that everything was correct and then we would set up a meeting to review and sign the trust. We ended up changing things several times via e-mail and she was patient and understanding with us, which we appreciated. Once everything was finalized, Coleen called me and we set up a meeting to review and sign the trust at the Rochester office. Once again Mike reviewed everything in great detail and spoke to the why. The meeting lasted about thirty minutes and one of the exciting aspects of the trust that he pointed out was that this trust could be used as a beneficiary on our investments. He said that financial advisers will try to tell us that that is not true, because that is the case with most trusts, but we would in fact be able to use this trust, executed by the Rutkowski Law Firm, as a beneficiary on our investments. It would be a contingent listed after my wife for me and after me for her. The key to Mike's success with us was his ability to demonstrate value. He demonstrated the value of working with the Rutkowski Law Firm and the value of having a trust. We could have piece of mind now that we knew that the Rutkowski Law Firm was going to take care of our family and make sure that important decisions would be made to our liking even after we were gone. It's a feeling of safety knowing that our family will receive what's owed to them.

utkowski Law Firm made estate planning feel completely manageable. They listened closely, explained…read moremy options without any pressure, and treated me with genuine care. Truly a great team to work with.

We can't say enough about Jim Wald and his professionalism. He took on our case with determination…read moreand kindness. When we needed reassurance, he was there every time. We wouldn't hesitate to work with him again should we need legal guidance. If we could post more stars, we would!

I first met Jim Wald through my financial advisor. Recently a sudden death in my family required…read moreme to rewrite my will. Jim was very supportive and took the time to explain things in detail. He also brought up several scenarios about my will and estate that I had not considered which might have created future problems if not properly addressed. He was truly helpful in a difficult situation. Jim is very professional and knowledgeable, and has keen insight into legal financial matters. I highly recommend him and his partner John Hughes.

Unable to contact regarding my parents will and trust. I am POA, Executor, Sole Trustee. Unable to…read morereach by phone, there is no email or website contact available. I'm not even sure if my parents Will & Trust are valid. Im not even sure this is a valid street address.

Todd is a very professional, very knowledgeable lawyer who…read morehas earned the reputation of many clients. We have been doing business with him for the past year or so and have been very impressed with his services. I would recommend him to anyone needing an Elder law attorney.

Erin has helped my clients with their Estate Planning needs. She is extremely efficient and knows…read moreexactly what she's doing! My clients have expressed that they are quite pleased with her professional manner and that she is very nice and speaks in layman's terms. I would highly recommend her! Questions about how to keep more of your marital assets in the event one of you requires Long Term Care in the future? Ask ERIN! Bill Dolunt Financial Advisor

From the owner: The Law Office of Erin E. Mortenson, PLLC, conveniently located in downtown Birmingham and has…read moreestablished a successful reputation within the community for assisting clients with a wide variety of legal matters including Estate Planning, Long-Term Care Planning, Guardianship/Conservatorship, Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans Eligibility, and Probate. It is important to establish a plan to avoid unnecessary financial burdens and ensure peace-of-mind.

No complaints. Great service & listened to our needs & provide ideas & plans to meet our needs…read more Good value to come complete the task.

We often listened to Mr. Matecun's radio presentation and were very impressed with the content. We…read moredecided to attend a free seminar. There were about thirty-five people there. It was very low key presentation with easy to understand slides and chalk board used. All questions were answered including costs. We decided to make an appointment and have our much overdue estate planning trust done. Mr. Matecun was very thorough and did an excellent job guiding us through all the needed decisions. Our children have been wanting us to go through this process for several years and are so pleased with the final results. We highly recommend all seniors go through this process of estate planning. Mr. Matecun and his staff were very informative and helpful in this process.

Our family hired Great Lakes Family and Probate Estates to handle an…read moreestate that needed immediate action. Kim and the entire staff at GLFPE did an excellent job and would highly recommend them. Thank you ! Toni B

I am very Grateful for Kimberly Browing and Stephanie Taylor at Great Lakes Family Probate and…read moreEstates. Knowledgeable, Professional, very reasonable and kind to help us with our unique situation that needed to be handled quickly. I would highly recommend this firm. Thank you, Donna H