Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Michigan

alzheimers and inheritance

My mother is starting to show

symptoms of alzheimers. At first it

was believed that she had dementia,

but the forgetfulness and repetition

of stories has increased dramatically.

She is a widow and not many assets

other than her home a lot on a lake

near her. She always said that she

would pass this on to me and the

lake house to my sister after she

deceases. There are two problems,

one is that she may not have a will

and the second is that if she incurs

huge medical bills, I've been told the

lot would be considered an asset and

could be use to pay the bills. My

question is , in the state of Michigan,

is there an limit of time after a

person is declared mentally

incompetent that they can still

transfer properties...or would this

have to be done a certain amount of

time before they are declared

mentally incompetent? Thank You


Asked on 8/19/08, 10:53 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Timothy Klisz Klisz Law Office, PLLC

Re: alzheimers and inheritance

I'm guessing your mom is not "declared mentally incompetent" therefore, she could sign deeds to the property. Contact me at www.kliszlaw.com to discuss further. Tim Klisz

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Answered on 8/19/08, 11:06 pm
Lesley Hoenig Lesley A. Hoenig, Attorney at Law

Re: alzheimers and inheritance

If she is not mentally incompetent she can still transfer property. However, transferring property shortly before incurring bills that one knows will be incurred can cause issues in and of itself. If your mother is already mentally incompetent, then I don't think she can just sign deeds, there is a legal process for someone to obtain guardianship or conservatorship over someone in order to manage their assets and debts.

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Answered on 8/20/08, 10:49 am


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