Believe it or not, a sort of “default” estate plan has been made for you by the state legislature–if you don’t have a will or trust, or a will or trust deemed valid, the “laws of intestacy” will likely apply.  Those laws vary a bit from state to state but often allow money to flow to a spouse, or a surviving spouse or kids; absent that, they sometimes look for even more distant kin.
Those “intestate” laws, the “default” estate plan in many states are not quite what many of us would want though, and they don’t typically take into account step kids, or charities or lovers and so on.  It’s smart, whether you live in Grand Ledge, the Grand Canyon, Lansing or Livonia, Sunfield or Potterville or Sturgis or Pittsburgh, Charlotte or Charlevoix, Delta Township or Detroit, to have an estate plan made with your own situation and concerns in mind.  We can help.
This story on the news this morning reminds us that without planning, things can go badly astray:  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/failing-to-have-a-will-is-one-of-the-worst-financial-mistakes-you-can-make/