Estate Planning, Wills, And Trusts

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Brenda Garland
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Garland Law Firm

Garland Law is the solo, boutique firm of Attorney Brenda J. Garland who focuses on estate planning for clients in northern Michigan.

The term “estate planning” is shorthand for Wills and Trusts, but can also refer to things like:

  • Trust administration after the death of a loved one who created a trust
  • Probate estates after the death of a loved one who had a Will or no documents
  • Powers of Attorney to nominate specific people who can exercise your rights – in a medical or legal/financial setting
  • Guardianships or Conservatorships to have the local probate court determine who can exercise your rights

Worthwhile Estate Planning is Personal

Brenda believes in helping people actually understand how estate planning can be useful and strongly prefers to meet at homes or other comfortable locations for clients to have those conversations. Any worthwhile estate planning has to be personal!

Worthwhile estate planning should also be comprehensive, and so Brenda will want to talk with you about your concerns as you think of your elder years plus your plans and ideas for gifts after death.

This isn’t financial planning, but estate planning should incorporate input from the perspectives of an attorney and your team of financial and tax advisors. This means you’ll talk about your finances, your taxes, maybe some spending habits, your family tree, illnesses, your family quirks…

What to Expect

What assets are you using during your working years compared to retirement?

What do you hope to leave after your death?

Are you interested in special gifts for grandchildren or charities?

Let's Work Together!

If you are reading this, you may be a planner. You may be getting serious about retirement. You may have just helped a family member navigate Probate and lost months of your life that you’ll never get back. Or… you may have lost a loved one and it cut to the quick. You are facing the reality of death, perhaps the most avoided topic of our time!

Brenda understands that these are challenging conversations for lots of different reasons. There are solutions.

Contact Me Directly
Brenda Garland and family dog

Contact Me Today

Garland Law
PO Box 422
Cheboygan, MI 49721

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Bio: Brenda J. Garland

Brenda J. Garland is a native of Bad Axe, Michigan who pursued law as a second career after stepping away from work in non-profit ministry. That work took her to Chicago, eastern Ohio, and Phoenix, and she wanted to return to Michigan to be near family. She is a graduate of Michigan Tech and has a strong love of deep snow. She also obtained her MBA while working at a university in Ohio. Law became the path that would bring together her interests in a way that would allow a quiet march toward retirement in rural Michigan.

Brenda practices estate planning, which focuses on end-of-life issues and often means working with families with loved ones who are losing capacity. Learning about dementia and Alzheimer’s, along with raising funds to support dementia research, has become an ongoing interest.

During law school, Brenda was honored to be part of a statewide project to help military veterans stuck in criminal cycles. After law school, she worked for a circuit court which was starting a similar type of assistive program to help drug addicts who commit crimes to support addictions. These treatment courts remain an interest.

Brenda is married to David, a retired firefighter, and they have chosen Northern Michigan for their home. Though they  have not been honored to raise any children, they enjoy the company of their blue heeler, Indigo, at work and home. 

This is a  second marriage for Brenda after leaving a violent home. Domestic violence is a topic she openly discusses, and she has been honored to serve Huron County’s SafePlace as well as RISE Advocacy in Clare/Isabella/Gratiot Counties. For more of Brenda’s story on YouTube,
visit https://youtu.be/m1IWrsSo5ZA (you can skip to the 5:55 minute mark).

Covid-19 was the spur for many changes, and also uncovered a need to foster hope through some longer-term planning in a future time with lighter travel and social restrictions. To that end, Brenda has begun planning for a trip to Japan in 2030 with her 5 godchildren. Learning Japanese
is very much a work in progress.

That’ll do for now. There’s always more to the story!

What to expect

  • No charge for initial consult
  • Expect 3-4 appointments
  • First meeting is usually at your home
  • Second meeting is usually at my office in Cheboygan
  • 2-3 months to finish depending on our schedules
  • The finished product is a binder of documents that you control.
  • Access to me for questions in the future

Besides “what happens to my stuff when I die,” an estate plan will often include or address documents for:

  • Your medical decisions
  • Home and real estate transfers
  • Small business issues
  • Your children's caregivers and finances
  • Funeral or burial/cremation planning ideas
  • Things your loved ones will need to know

I find it tough to guess the total fee before we meet. There are many different options to consider. But I’m here to help you understand what those options are.

I’ll ultimately charge a flat fee, determined once you decide you want to move forward and what work that will include.

When you want to move forward, a payment is due toward the balance. Cash and checks accepted.