
Elder Law Up North
Attorneys shed light on six legal issues seniors face in northern Michigan
By Ren Brabenec | Oct. 4, 2025
Northern Michigan’s population is aging. Various factors have contributed to the demographic shift, such as out-migration of younger adults, below-replacement fertility rates, and an influx of Baby Boomers seeking retirement in the region.
As reported in our sister publication, The Leelanau Ticker, Leelanau County’s over-60 demographic now exceeds 40 percent of the total population, the highest rate of any northern Michigan county. Grand Traverse County—one of the few counties in the region that has recorded net population growth in recent years—owes that growth almost entirely to an influx of adults over the age of 50.
We checked in with two local law firms to learn about the top six challenges residents face as they age, and what they can do to safeguard their futures and their legacies.
1) Legal Paperwork is a MUST
“If I had just 90 seconds with anyone over the age of 18 to tell them what legal steps they should take, I’d tell them to get their financial power of attorney and a patient advocate designations put in place,” says Ryan Hulst of Grand Traverse Elder Law.
Hulst defines the terms for us:
Financial Power of Attorney (POA) is a legal document delineating a set of circumstances in which one person (referred to as the principal) grants authority to another person (the agent) insofar as the management of the principal’s financial affairs is concerned. Should the principal become incapacitated, the agent may execute financial decisions for them.
Patient Advocate Designation, also referred to as Healthcare Power of Attorney, is a legal document wherein one person, the “principal” or the “patient,” designates a trusted individual to become their “patient advocate.” The patient advocate assumes the responsibility of ensuring the principal’s healthcare wishes are followed in the event of the principal becoming incapacitated.
Hulst emphasizes the importance of these documents. “Having these documents means there should be no court-appointed decision-makers in the event of incapacitation,” he says, adding that making legal, financial, and healthcare-related decisions is much easier when these documents are in place. The alternative is probate court, which is more complex, time-consuming, and does not guarantee that the individual’s initial wishes will be honored.
2) Real Property Should be Passed on in a Way That Benefits Inheritors
To Hulst, one of the biggest challenges seniors face is passing on real property to their heirs. “It’s easy to get penny-wise and pound-foolish when it comes to real property,” Hulst says.
Hulst, who goes to churches, clubs, assisted living centers, and other community gatherings to give free talks about elder law, says real estate is one of the topics that comes up the most, especially considering the soaring values of homes in the area.
“If Mom and Dad bought a house on Grand Traverse Bay in 1980 for $150,000, that house may be worth 10 times that by now,” Hulst says. “If they’re not careful, the capital gains tax of liquidating that home as a part of the estate could be astronomical. But there are ways to reduce the tax burden for the inheritors. It’s just a matter of Mom and Dad meeting with an attorney and going over legal options.”
3) Medicaid Is a Senior’s Parachute
“So much of working in elder law, for us, is about educating our clients on the numerous options available to them that will make their lives better as they age,” says David Dobreff of Northern Michigan Elder Law.
To Dobreff, most elder law cases deal with what happens to an individual (and their loved ones) when physical and mental capacity declines. Dobreff sees Northern Michigan Elder Law’s role as one of helping individuals prepare for the eventuality in a way that everyone’s needs are met and quality of life is preserved and maintained for as long as possible, all without breaking the bank.
“Medicaid programs are the senior citizen’s parachute,” Dobreff says. “Much of our firm deals with Medicaid planning and program applications, including with the Program for All-Inclusive Case for the Elderly, the MiChoice Waiver Program, and Medicaid Long Term Care.”
Dobreff tells us that if there was one thing he could impart to individuals, it’s that a lot of people who don’t think they qualify for Medicaid programs actually probably do. According to Dobreff, many adults in northern Michigan can benefit from Medicaid as they age, particularly as it pertains to receiving long-term care without having to enter assisted living and without having to break the bank or liquidate assets. “Medicaid programs allow us to protect our assets as we are receiving the care we need,” Dobreff says.
He gives us an example of a case he had where a woman in her 50s was receiving a surgery on her neck, which ultimately went awry, leaving her paralyzed from the neck down and forever confined to a nursing home. The medical fiasco initially exposed the woman’s husband to all of his retirement assets being needed to pay for intensive, long-term care, but Dobreff and his team were able to get Medicaid programs to cover the cost of the care at no cost to the husband.
4) Legal Protections Early On Help Avoid Confusion, Financial Hardship, and Family Strife Later in Life
Emilee Evans, another attorney at Northern Michigan Elder Law, believes that “elder law requires a holistic approach, wherein you might sit down with a client with the initial objective of setting up a power of attorney, patient advocate designation, or a simple deed, but then you find out the client has some vulnerabilities that require immediate attention.”
Evans got into elder law because she suffered a death in the family while she was doing her undergrad, and she saw firsthand how stressful the legal side of a family death can be.
Evans also provides us an example, this one of a group of siblings who could not agree on what clothes they wanted their deceased mother to be wearing during a wake. The argument got so bad that one of the siblings was cut out of the will over it, which would not have been possible had the deceased created a clear will and proper legal documentation before she had passed away.
5) The “Idyllic Rural NoMi Life” is Harder on Seniors Than They Think it Will Be
“Seniors across America face the same or similar challenges as they age, but some challenges are more unique to northern Michigan,” says Nancy Swartz, the Medicaid specialist for Northern Michigan Elder Law. She points to the region’s rural geography and how, combined with the lack of sufficient healthcare providers, simply getting to and from appointments and maintaining care can be difficult.
Dobreff agrees. “Most of the people moving here are older, because they romanticize the idea of retiring up north. But doing so comes with unique challenges. They want the nice house on the 10-acre plot outside the city limits, but how long before they age out of being able to climb the stairs, mow the grass, plow the driveway, and drive safely on icy roads into town? Getting services to these individuals can be challenging, too. Planning for these future challenges is something we try to help clients consider when they’re meeting with us.”
6) Everyone has Legal Ducks—Try to Get Them in a Row Sooner Rather than Later
Hulst, Dobreff, Evans, and Swartz all came from different backgrounds, and they each wear different hats in the elder law space, but there was one critical takeaway we got from each of them, and it went something like this: Start thinking about the future now.
“Elder law is one of those legal fields where, from the perspective of the individual, it is exponentially easier to plan for the physical and mental toll of aging before it happens, as opposed to trying to cope with it while it’s happening,” Hulst says in closing.
“Sometimes, elder law is as simple as helping individuals fill out and sign legal documents related to aging. Other times, it’s tasks like helping individuals get on certain Medicaid programs. But as a general rule, the sooner we act, the easier and less stressful making these arrangements will be.”
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