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Ketola & Stenson
(231) 555-0147
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An older woman in a blue cardigan and glasses hugging her grown daughter in a denim jacket on a sunny street

Estate and elder law in Traverse City

You're looking after a parent. Let us look after the paperwork.

Ketola & Stenson helps families around Grand Traverse Bay with powers of attorney, Medicaid planning, special needs trusts and the court papers that follow a death. Come in with the folder, or with only the questions.

Book a first meetingSee how it works
  • A written fee quote before we start
  • Visits at home or in a care facility
  • A plain-English summary after every meeting

Our clients

The families behind the folders

Parents with a plan to finish, grown children with a parent to look after, and couples who came in with a shoebox of statements and a long list of questions.

A smiling older woman in a maroon cardigan outdoors beside a tile-roofed building
A smiling older woman with white hair in a tan coat outdoors
Two older women in white blouses smiling over an open envelope
An older woman and a man in a gray sweater looking through a folder beside a window
A young woman showing a phone to an older woman in a cardigan on a park bench
An older man with a gray beard painting eggs at a kitchen table between two women
Two adults sorting clothes and belongings from cardboard boxes in a living room
An older woman in a wheelchair on a tree-lined sidewalk with a man standing behind her
An older woman in a white robe holding a letter beside an open book and a tin box of papers, with a younger woman's arm around her
A woman with curly blond hair sitting on a living room rug reading papers, with more sheets spread around her
An older couple smiling as they walk along a dirt path through a pine park
A woman with her arm around an older woman with gray hair on a beach under a clear sky

Where families start

Which of these sounds like your week?

Each one is a different kind of work, and a different one of us leads it.

  • A parent needs more care

    A move to assisted living or a nursing home is coming, and nobody knows how it gets paid for.

    Medicaid and care planning

  • Someone in the family has a disability

    An inheritance, an eighteenth birthday or a sibling's retirement could change the benefits they depend on.

    Special needs and guardianship

  • The bank won't talk to you

    Your mother can't sign anymore, or soon won't be able to, and you've been handed her mail.

    Powers of attorney

  • A plan to write, or an estate to settle

    A will and a trust for yourselves, or the court filings after a parent has died.

    Wills, trusts and probate

After the work is done

What clients wrote to us

Notes from clients, shared with their permission.

  • “I came in with a grocery bag of Dad's mail and bank statements. By the end of the hour I knew what to do first, and what could wait.”

    Phyllis R.

  • “They explained the look-back period twice, once to me and once to my brother, without making either of us feel slow.”

    Delbert W.

  • “Our son will need help his whole life. The trust is signed, the letter of intent is in the drawer, and I sleep better.”

    Millie A.

Each client's situation is different, and these notes don't predict the result in yours.

Our lawyers

Three lawyers, each with a kind of work

You'll know who is handling your family's matter from the first meeting, and you'll have their direct line.

  • Rhiannon Ketola, a lawyer with long gray hair in a maroon blouse

    Rhiannon Ketola

    Elder law and Medicaid planning

    Rhiannon helps families work out how to pay for care, and what a spouse at home may keep.

  • Imke Lathrop, a lawyer with dark hair and glasses in a navy blazer

    Imke Lathrop

    Special needs and guardianship

    Imke plans for family members with disabilities and guides guardianships through the probate court.

  • Jorgen Stenson, a lawyer with gray hair in a charcoal suit and striped tie

    Jorgen Stenson

    Wills, trusts and probate

    Jorgen writes wills and trusts, and settles estates once the family is ready.

Bring the folder, or only the questions

We meet at our Front Street office, at your home or in a care facility. Before we begin, you'll have the fee in writing.

Book a first meetingCall (231) 555-0147