Corriveau Law

06/02/2026

For many people, their pets are family.

Yet one of the most overlooked questions in estate planning is: what happens to them if you're no longer able to care for them?

That's why we're seeing more interest in pet trusts and detailed letters of instruction. These tools allow you to document everything from who should care for your pet to their routines, medical needs, veterinarian preferences, and even funds set aside for their care.

Because the reality is, if you don't leave instructions, someone else will be left making those decisions and guessing what you would have wanted.

Estate planning isn't just about your house, your bank accounts, or your investments. It's about making sure the people — and pets — you care about are taken care of according to your wishes.

06/01/2026

That’s what estate planning is really about.

Not paperwork. not legal jargon.

Just making sure your family has clarity, direction, and less stress when they need it most.

05/29/2026

This is where things can get complicated fast.

When there’s no clear plan, families are left trying to piece everything together while already dealing with enough emotionally.

Clarity now prevents confusion later.

05/28/2026

Divorce is difficult enough without turning it into a war.

After handling divorces for more than 20 years, one thing Joe has seen over and over is that the more contentious the process becomes, the more time, money, and emotional energy everyone loses in the process. Especially when children are involved.

That’s why mediation can be such a valuable option.

Instead of spending months fighting through litigation, mediation allows both parties to sit down, work through decisions together, and create agreements that fit their actual lives and priorities.

The goal isn’t to “win.”
The goal is to move forward with as little unnecessary damage as possible.

05/26/2026

A big reason estate planning feels overwhelming is because the language around it sounds overwhelming.

Trusts. Probate. Durable powers of attorney. Patient advocates.

Most people hear those terms and immediately feel like they’re stepping into something confusing, overly formal, or meant for “other people.”

But when you strip away the legal terminology, estate planning is really about very real, everyday things:
Your home.
Your savings.
Your health.
Your family.
And who steps in if something happens.

That’s why Joe focuses so heavily on explaining these concepts in a simple and relatable way. Because people make better decisions when they actually understand what they’re signing, what it protects, and why it matters.

The goal is not to overwhelm people with legal jargon.
The goal is to help families feel informed, protected, and prepared.

05/25/2026

Memorial Day means different things to different people.

For some, it’s a long weekend. For others, it’s a reminder of someone they still think about every day.

Today is a good day to slow down for a minute and remember the people who gave up everything so the rest of us could keep living our normal lives. That sacrifice deserves more than a passing thought.

05/22/2026

A lot of people assume their spouse, parents, or kids can automatically step in and handle everything.

That’s not always how it works legally.

And most families don’t realize that until they’re already in a stressful situation.

05/21/2026

People absolutely can create estate planning documents online.

The problem is those documents are designed for “everyone” — not specifically for you, your family, your goals, or Michigan law.

A large part of what we do is finding the gaps in those documents after the fact. Missing powers. Bad wording. Restrictions people didn’t even realize were there until a crisis happens.

One recent example involved a Durable Power of Attorney that technically prevented the person’s chosen agent from carrying out the very wishes they intended because of how the gifting language was written.

That’s why these documents should be tailored to your actual life, not generated from a template meant for the general public.

Estate planning is not just about having paperwork. It’s about making sure the paperwork actually works when your family needs it to.

05/21/2026

05/20/2026

One of the biggest mistakes people make is assuming what they saw on TV applies to Michigan law.

A perfect example is the term “living will.” People hear it all the time, but Michigan doesn’t actually recognize a living will the way many other states do.

Instead, what most people are really talking about here is a Patient Advocate Designation or Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare. That’s the document that allows someone to make medical decisions on your behalf and outlines things like life-sustaining treatment wishes.

This is why estate planning is not one-size-fits-all. State laws matter, wording matters, and understanding what your documents actually do matters.