When parents and family members require care in a nursing home or adult foster care, many people assess the building on a tour, placing their trust in the institution based on an abbreviated visit. Once admitted, many elderly people are unable or unwilling to complain, and being raised in the Great Depression or Second World…
The Dingeman & Dancer Blog consists of articles, news, and press releases written and edited by the attorneys and legal professionals at our firm, providing updates on both recent legal developments and established advice and guidance. Choose from the various topics listed in the sidebar menu to narrow in on a particular focus.
Discussing finances with your aging parents can be difficult since most people are reluctant to give up control of their means for independence. Approaching the discussion as a partnership can open the door to early communication that can make parents more comfortable discussing finances. Often having two or more people discussing finances with them will…
2014 marks the first year of the phase-out of personal property tax for businesses in Michigan. While the phase-out is a several year process, one significant component taking effect in 2014 is an exemption of commercial or industrial personal property of a business that has a combined value of less than $80,000. The most important…
Recent changes in federal estate tax exemptions have made it easier for most couples to pass on their joint assets for estate planning purposes, without the complexity of having individual trusts. Since couples usually accumulate assets jointly, meaning each party as the right to use and benefit from the jointly held assets, they can now…
The downtown Traverse City real estate boom appears to have no end in sight. When Dingeman & Dancer, PLC built on the former Bean Pot location in 1996, an aging auto repair garage, Selkirk’s farm market in a former gas station, and the building now housing Chase Bank, surrounded it. The recent sale of the…
When the Traverse City State Hospital closed in 1989, Father Edwin “Fred” Frederick, the Hospital’s Catholic chaplain, was concerned that many of the residents were without a place to go and would end up lost, homeless and with little hope. Father Fred invited myself and a handful of supporters to form the Father Fred Foundation…
A preliminary settlement of more than $100 million for victims of a nationwide fungal meningitis outbreak has been reached. Dingeman and Dancer, PLC, which represents northern Michigan clients invovled in a lawsuit is helping its clients file claims with the Federal Bankruptcy Court to take part in the settlment. Attorney Mark Dancer stated that the…
The US Attorney General, Michigan Attorney General and the FBI are investigating the Massachusetts-based company that manufactured tained steroids that reached Northern Michigan. Dingeman and Dancer, PLC represent over seventy patients who were injected with this contaminated steroid in a civil case against the manufacturer, New England Compounding Center. In a recent Record-Eagle article, attorney…
The Traverse City Record-Eagle featured attorney Mark Dancer in an article regarding a $100 million-plus fund to compensate victims who suffered or developed fungal meningitis as a result of tainted steroids. Attorney Dancer, along with attorney Dan Myers, represents nearly 80 clients with varying levels of injury. Attorney Mark Dancer stated, “There was so much…
An article in the Ticker, published November 26 in the Traverse City Business News caught our eye. In Local Disabled Vets Earn Tax Exemptions by Al Parker, veterans are eligible for property tax exemptions under a recently sign Michigan law. “The law calls for property tax exemptions for veterans who are honorably discharged and…
