 | - Estate Planning Many people avoid proper estate planning because they do not like thinking about death. Estate Planning is generally considered the process by which people develop a plan that ensures that the assets they have worked so hard accumulating during their lifetime are protected and distributed to those they love. Without proper estate planning, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) stands to inherit a large portion of your assets. Fortunately, it's not too late to write the IRS out of your will. We can help you implement a variety of advanced tax strategies to keep your assets out of the hands of the IRS. Our expertise includes:
- Wills
- Trusts
- Private Annuities
- Power of Attorney
- Medical Power of Attorney
- Designation of Guardian
- Living Wills
- Living Trusts
- Life Insurance Trusts
- Family Limited Partnerships
- Educational Trusts
- Bypass Trusts
- Charitable Trusts
- Business Succession and Insurance Planning
- Special Needs Trusts
The various tools listed above are regularly used to accomplish a client's specific goals. For instance, they are used to plan for the disposition of someone's estate at their death. They can also be used to reduce the estate tax burden imposed at death. Finally, they can be used to make appropriate plans in the event someone becomes incapacitated or otherwise unable to care for themselves. The attorneys at our firm assist clients by determining their specific estate planning needs and coordinating the various estate planning tools to ensure that those needs are effectively met. Through this process, a client's mind is eased knowing that they have adequately planned for the future. Robert J. Longstreet is the estate planning specialists in the office. - Family Law and Divorce Few legal areas are as emotionally charged as family law, primarily for the litigants, but also for the lawyers and judges involved in the case, and even the public at large. In divorce and child custody cases in particular, the adversarial process has increased tensions between the parties that do not abate even when the process is complete. We stress both litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods such as mediation in our practice, and represent clients in a full range of family law matters, including:
- Divorce
- Paternity
- Child custody
- Child support
- Visitation and placement
- Marital property and property division disputes
- Temporary orders
- Premarital or prenuptial agreements
- Domestic abuse and violence
- Child abuse and protection
- Temporary protection orders
- Maintenance or spousal support
- Post judgment modifications
- Retirement benefits
- Grandparent visitation cases
Attorney Bruce W. Gee focuses much of his practice in family law, and is one of the most experienced, respected attorneys in the area. He has successfully represented clients in complicated divorce, custody, and other cases for over thirty years.
- Long Term Care/Medicaid Planning One of the greatest threats facing families today is the financial, social, psychological and familial consequences of needing long term care. Medicaid is a joint federal-state program that provides health insurance coverage to low-income children, seniors and people with disabilities. Medicaid also covers care in a nursing home for those who qualify. In the absence of other public assistance covering long-term care, Medicaid has become the default nursing home insurance of the middle class. In Michigan, Medicaid is administered by the Family Independence Agency (FIA).
Medicaid helps pay for nursing home care. This is in contrast to Medicare, which provides access to quality hospital care. Medicare does not cover long-term nursing home care, so individuals whose medical condition requires long term care may miss the government's "safety-net" unless they qualify for Medicaid. Our attorneys are aware of all of the rules and regulations in this complicated, confusing, and rapidly changing area of the law and can answer all of your questions regarding Medicaid planning, eligibility, and penalties. Attorney Robert J. Longstreet practices in this complicated, rapidly changing area of the law, and is known for both his compassion and understanding. He works regularly with area nursing homes and county FIA offices to ensure that the needs of his clients and their families are met. - Real Estate Real estate developers, investors and lenders come to us for our business approach to transactions and understanding of their needs. They stay with us because of the reasonable fees that result from our size, location and efficient staffing of real estate transactions and related litigation. We represent buyers and sellers in all types of commercial and residential projects. We thoroughly immerse ourselves in the details of the business aspects of each deal and in all transactions, our goal is to enable the client to make the deal happen. Our clients include both sophisticated real estate players and relative newcomers, and we tailor our services accordingly. Our services extend to the following areas:
- Contract negotiation
- Preparing purchase agreements, deeds, and bills of sale
- Income, estate, and gift tax ramifications
- Commercial and retail leases
- Financing
- Zoning, land-use and administrative processes
- Boundary disputes
- Workouts of troubled real estate projects
- Riparian rights
- Lake property disputes
- Site condominium projects
- Criminal Defense There is an inequality of power and material resources in the criminal justice system. The government has a large staff of lawyers, police and agents, sophisticated crime labs and experts, and a huge budget provided by the taxpayers. This gives them a tremendous advantage because the legal system is based on the premise that "the whole truth" is that presented at the trial. If a defendant cannot challenge the government's case, or submit his or her own witnesses, then the jury by default will probably accept as true whatever evidence the prosecutor produces. In order to meet this challenge, our attorneys seek to meet the prosecutor fact for fact. Our strength lies in preparation, investigation, motion practice, and trial presentation. By focusing on the defense of criminal cases, we can assure you of the highest quality representation. We represent clients in all types of state and federal criminal cases, from minor infractions and misdemeanors to the most serious felonies, including:
- Homicide, Battery, Assault, and other Violent Crimes
- Drug and Narcotic Offenses
- Weapons Charges
- Theft and Grand Larceny
- Burglary
- White Collar Crimes
- Fraud
- Embezzlement
- Sex Offenses
- Conspiracy
- Bond Hearings
- Emergency Appearances
- Probation Revocation and Parole
We are well regarded by other attorneys, prosecutors, and judges because we demonstrate the strictest personal and professional ethics in our criminal defense practice, as well as the utmost concern for the rights and well being of our clients.
- OWI/Traffic Citations We defend individuals and businesses charged with all state and local traffic offenses including:
- Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) (DUI) (OWI) (OUIL)
- Reckless Driving
- Speeding
- Driving With a Suspended License
- Driving Without Insurance
- Truck Overweight Matters
When it comes to charges resulting from the operation of a vehicle, we are as experienced as anyone else is. We can assure you that your driving privileges, your liberty and welfare are best placed with us when legal problems present themselves. If you have been charged with any type of driving violation from the least serious to the most serious you need expert representation. We have successfully defended through settlement, bench and jury trials hundreds of such cases. We help our clients successfully negotiate the criminal justice system and provide outstanding representation in all facets of the law.
- Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Litigation Our firm represents individuals and their families who have been seriously injured or killed as a result of the negligence, recklessness and wantonness of others. Plaintiff personal injury and wrongful death cases can be difficult. Our firm understands how insurance companies and lawyers on the other side think. Insurance companies want to limit their exposure or liability when a serious injury or death occurs. Insurance companies hire attorneys whose job it is to aggressively undermine each aspect of the plaintiff's claim. Through experience, we have become all too familiar with their tactics in order to protect the rights, health and safety of clients. We have successfully represented individuals and their families with claims caused by the negligence, recklessness and wantonness of others in situations such as:
- Automobile and Motor Vehicle Accidents
- Truck, Tractor Trailer, and Eighteen Wheeler Accidents
- Pedestrian Accidents
- Slip, Trip, and Falls
- Workplace and Job-Related Accidents
- Construction Accidents
- Dog and Animal Attacks
- Dangerous and Defective Products
- Medical Malpractice
Personal injuries not only cause physical pain, but often emotional and financial hardship through loss of work, medical bills and stress placed upon families and loved ones. We often take our physical and mental well being for granted until something goes wrong. When an accident happens lives are forever changed. Simple pleasures become chores. Daily routines are disrupted. Economic losses are often devastating. Whether caused by an automobile accident, a defective product, medical malpractice, or other negligent, reckless, careless conduct, injuries alter lives forever. Our firm takes responsibility for effective, aggressive investigation and representation, allowing injured clients to attend to health, family and economic issues, while pursuing a variety of legal means to obtain the highest possible financial recovery. If you have suffered physical or emotional injuries due to another's actions, you may be entitled to bring a personal injury claim to recover for your damages. Recoverable damages may include: - Past and Future Medical Expenses
- Physical Pain and Suffering
- Mental Anguish
- Physical Impairment and Disfigurement
- Lost Wages
- Loss of Earning Capacity
- Punitive/Exculpatory Damages
- Medical Malpractice We handle cases involving claims that a physician, nurse, or other medical provider breached the standard of care in diagnosing or treating medical conditions. We have extensive experience in cases involving:
- Birth-related injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries (tbi)
- Aneurysms
- Paralysis
- Cerebral palsy
- Surgical errors
- Misdiagnosis or late diagnosis
- Failure to diagnose cancer breast, testicle, skin and colon
- Obstetrical and gynecological malpractice cases
- Patient neglect
- Incorrect administration of medication
- Nursing malpractice
- Psychiatric malpractice
- Emergency room errors
- State, Local & Municipal Law We understand and advise clients on the powers and liabilities of municipal corporations and state and local governments. Laws that affect people and business at the local level often receive the least amount of public attention. This makes changes to them easier to violate. Our firm helps clients stay abreast of significant changes in the law and provides them with the information they need to be a part of the process through which changes in policy become law. Areas of practice include:
- Administrative law
- Appeals from agency decisions
- Enforcement actions
- Licensing matters
- Health and safety issues
- Insurance
- Public utilities
- Governmental contracts
- Taxation issues
- Land use and zoning issues
- Municipal tort claims
- Business and economic regulation
- Industry restructuring and deregulation
- Trade regulation
- Employment Law Employment law covers a complex network of laws that controls how employers must treat employees, former employees, and applicants for employment. We have significant experience interpreting and applying state and federal statutes and case law in areas involving:
- Employment discrimination
- Affirmative action
- Sexual harassment
- Employee benefits
- Whistleblower cases
- Wrongful/retaliatory termination
- Drug testing
- Employee privacy
- Employment contracts
- Workplace violence and safety
- Breach of non-compete and confidentiality agreements
- Wage and hour law violations
- Labor law
- Unions
Our cases involve application of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN), the Federal Employer's Liability Act (FELA), the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), administrative claims filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and special laws governing municipal employment. We encourage the use of, and have successfully utilized facilitative mediation and arbitration to minimize the time and expense related to resolving employment disputes.
- Business and Commercial Law Our firm is adept at achieving the business objectives of our clients in all types of cases. Our attorneys have business backgrounds and experiences as varied as the clients we serve. We advise clients on planning and litigation strategies when and whether to settle or to fight disputes and whether to pursue good faith negotiations, alternative dispute resolution, mediation, arbitration, or litigation. Our attorneys Richard J. Hudson, Bruce W. Gee, and Robert J. Longstreet handle a wide variety of matters, including:
- Organization and formation of corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships, and other business entities
- Business counseling
- Risk management
- Business purchases and sales
- Banking law
- Stock transactions
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Commercial transactions
- Tax planning
- Contract drafting and negotiation
- Employment law issues
- Financing and development
- Family limited partnerships
- Business succession planning
At our firm, we develop "partnerships" with our clients that are based on consistent communication and frequent interaction. This results in a highly productive client-attorney relationship and allows us to anticipate our clients' needs and requirements. What makes this partnership succeed is our ability to assist our clients, both large and small, at every stage from designing and planning strategies to implementing the plan. Our business background and training allows us to develop personalized plans that meet the demands of today's competitive business environment. We are results-oriented and have an outstanding track record for carefully creating and monitoring innovative programs that precisely address the diverse needs of our business and corporate clients.
Copyright © 2005
by Gee & Longstreet, LLP. All rights reserved. You may reproduce materials available at this site for your own personal use and for non-commercial distribution. All copies must include this copyright statement.
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