Estate planning, probate, and family-law counsel built around your people, your assets, and your legacy. Strategic. Confidential. Fixed-fee where it counts.
Big firms give you a junior associate. Solo practitioners give you a calendar problem. We give you a senior strategist trained at Michigan State University in both law (JD) and finance (MBA), focused on the questions that decide whether your family is protected, your business survives the next decade, and your hard-won assets pass to the right people in the right way.
Most Michigan families benefit from a revocable living trust, and most attorneys write them poorly. We design plans that actually work when called upon: probate-avoiding, incapacity-ready, and aligned with your real assets and beneficiaries.
Estate PlanningMichigan probate is a procedural maze, one wrong filing can add months. We administer estates efficiently and represent personal representatives, beneficiaries, and trustees in disputes when they arise.
Probate AdministrationDivorce, custody, and post-judgment matters handled by an attorney who treats your privacy and your kids' welfare as non-negotiables. We pursue resolution without sacrificing your position.
Divorce & CustodyFormation, governance, succession, sale, and the tax planning that ties it all together. An MBA in finance and a tax-focused practice means we think about your business the way an owner does.
Business LawMost legal events in life don't happen in isolation. A divorce can require an estate plan amendment. A business sale can trigger a tax decision. A guardianship can spiral into probate. Working with one firm means strategy is consistent, history is preserved, and nothing falls through the cracks.
Daniel founded Michigan Trust & Estate Planning to bring boutique-firm rigor and finance-trained strategy to families and business owners across mid-Michigan. With a JD and an MBA in finance from Michigan State University, his practice spans the full lifecycle: planning, administration, dispute resolution, tax, and the business decisions that touch every family with assets to protect.
The firm is intentionally small. Every matter is handled by Daniel directly, no associate hand-offs, no surprise bills, no jargon-heavy emails. You will know exactly where your case stands, what it costs, and what comes next.
We've stripped the legal process down to the part that helps you decide. No salesy tactics. No bait-and-switch fees. Just a clear sequence designed for busy people with real lives to protect.
A confidential, no-obligation conversation to understand your situation, your concerns, and what success looks like for your family or business.
You receive a written engagement scope and a fixed-fee or transparent estimate before you commit a dollar. You'll know what you're paying for and why.
We draft, you review, we revise, together. Every document is explained in plain English so you understand not just what it says, but why.
Signing, funding, and the unglamorous-but-critical follow-through (titling assets, coordinating beneficiaries, recording deeds) that makes your plan actually work.
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"Attorney Benson took on a difficult case for me and left me with reassurance the whole time. Any questions I had he easily answered and handled the case with grace. He is very knowledgeable and goes above and beyond for his clients."
"I got an appointment within a week of calling. The initial session was thorough and informative. Daniel promptly answered any question I posed either with a text or call. The final product was done very professionally."
"He took his time. Was able to answer any questions that I had. Was able to work around my schedule for our meetings. Would recommend his services to anyone looking."
"Professional and well-versed in his area of expertise. I have recommended him to many people, and they've all had positive experiences. He is someone you definitely want on your side of the table in legal matters."
"I worked with Daniel Benson on multiple occasions. He helped with my estate planning and a real estate case. In every situation he was thorough and made sure everything was correct. I would recommend him to anyone needing a lawyer."
"We found Dan to be hard-working, thorough, efficient, and very knowledgeable. He helped us make some difficult decisions and had our estate plan ready in a short amount of time. It was a pleasure working with Daniel and I highly recommend Michigan Trust & Estate Planning."
Most foundational estate plans at our firm are flat-fee, with the total depending on whether you need a will-based plan or a trust-centered plan, and whether you have a business, blended family, or other complex assets. We confirm the price in writing before you engage us, never hourly billing for foundational planning.
For comparison: probate of a single home and a few accounts in Michigan often costs more than a properly funded living trust would have cost up front. Planning is almost always cheaper than the alternative.
It depends on your assets, your family, and your goals. A will simply directs how your estate is administered through Michigan probate. A revocable living trust generally avoids probate, allows for incapacity planning, and offers greater privacy.
If you own real estate, run a business, have minor children, have a blended family, or simply want your loved ones to skip the public probate process, a trust is usually the right tool. We walk you through both during your consultation and recommend the option that actually fits your situation.
An unsupervised informal probate in Michigan typically runs five to seven months at minimum. Most estates close within nine to twelve months. Real estate, business interests, contested claims, or tax issues can extend the timeline meaningfully.
The biggest variable is preparation. Estates where the personal representative has the will, an asset inventory, and the right counsel from day one close materially faster than estates that proceed in fits and starts.
Estate planning consultations are offered free of charge. Consultations for divorce, custody, probate administration, probate litigation, guardianship, conservatorship, tax, bankruptcy, and business matters are billed at a transparent flat fee that we quote in writing before you commit, and that we credit toward your engagement if you retain us.
A consultation is a 30-to-60-minute confidential conversation in our Okemos office, where we discuss your situation, your goals, the relevant Michigan law, and your options. You leave with a clear sense of what you would be paying to retain us, what the timeline looks like, and whether you need to act now.
Our office is in Okemos and we serve clients throughout Michigan, including Lansing, East Lansing, Mason, Holt, Haslett, Williamston, Howell, Brighton, Jackson, and surrounding mid-Michigan communities. We meet clients in person at our Okemos office.
Every engagement is handled by Daniel directly. We are intentionally a boutique firm so that the strategy you discussed in your consultation is the strategy executed in your matter, without hand-offs to junior staff or hidden delegations.
Tell us briefly what's on your mind. We'll respond the same business day with a time that works, and a confidential conversation that costs you nothing.
