The estate planning basics discussed will include:

• Planning for incapacity
• Planning for death
• Probate avoidance
• Tax planning
• Preparing and protecting the next generation
• Leaving a legacy

The event is open to the public. If you have any questions, please call 616/235-5000.

The next topic in the Senior Living Series, "Medicare and Medicare Advantage Plans: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know," will take place in September.

In 2008 it appeared there would be six additional ethanol refiniries, but ultimately the demand for ethanol in Michigan did not justify 11 total facilities. Currently, the operating plants are in Riga Township, Albion, Caro, Marysville, and Lake Odessa. Generally they have 40-50 employees, each with a capacity between 50-60 million gallons per year. Total ethanol production in the state is approximately 240 million gallons per year.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder on May 8 signed a bill empowering the Natural Resources Commission to decide whether to allow wolf hunting.  A day after Snyder signed Senate Bill 288 into law, the commission, on a 6 to 1 vote,  approved regulations for Michigan's inaugural wolf hunt this fall, making Michigan the sixth state to authorize the hunting of wolves since federal protections were removed.  It set the total harvest at 43 animals.

Animal protection groups did their best to force a statewide vote on the issue. The state Board of Canvassers on May 22 certified petition signatures gathered by Keep Michigan Wolves Protected to put a wolf hunting referendum  before voters in Nov. 2014. Although 161,305 valid signatures were needed to qualify for the ballot, referendum supporters collected 255,000 signatures by the March 27 deadline. The ballot measure was rendered moot, however, with the signing of the bill on May 8.

Keep Michigan Wolves Protected  wanted to suspend Public Act 520 which designated wolves as a game species.  Under previous law, only the Michigan Legislature had the power to designate a game species. It was then up to the Natural Resources Commission to determine if there should be a hunting season. The only dissenter was Commissioner Annoesjka Steinman of Muskegon, whom Snyder appointed to the seven-member panel last year.

The Upper Peninsula's first wolf hunt is scheduled between Nov. 15 and Dec. 31. The harvest of  43 wolves - roughly 7 percent of the estimated herd,  is restricted to three zones.  Zone one includes a portion of Gogebic County and the city of Ironwood. The second zone encompasses portions of Baraga, Houghton, Ontonagon and Gogebic counties while the third hunting zone is in portions of Luce and Mackinac counties.

Last fall I discussed a decision of the Michigan Court of Appeals in Krantz v Terrill, in "Dock Permitted at Access Easement – No Good Deed Goes Unpunished."  In that decision, the court of appeals permitted a dock to be maintained at an access easement based upon long standing use of a dock.

On June 5, 2013, the Michigan Supreme Court vacated the portions of the court of appeals' decision holding that the defendants had established a prescriptive right to erect a dock and moor boats to the dock at the end of the easement.  You can review that order here.  The Court explained that "hostile" use could not be tacked onto a period of permissive use to satisfy the 15 year period of adversity required for an adverse possession or prescriptive easement claim.

Though I believe the Court made the correct decision, Krantz serves as a reminder of the lengths and expense often required to protect one's waterfront property rights.

The Health Insurance Tax, which targets a health insurance company's net premiums, will likely drive up prices  for individuals and small businesses through increased premiums,  complained New York Farm Bureau President and dairy owner Dean Norton.

Norton, testifying May 9 before the House Small Business Subcommittee on Health and Technology,  said rising insurance premiums has forced businesses to sharply reduce contributions to employee health plans. "We've had to significantly change the cost structure from covering about 90 percent of the insurance cost to approximately 50 percent through a high deductible,'' Norton told the committee. "Unfortunately, the people who are really hurt by this change are the employees. They now have to contribute a larger portion of the expenses when they seek medical attention.''

Beginning in 2014, the health care law imposes a new tax on the health insurance policies that most small businesses purchase.

The financial squeeze on small businesses is palpable, according to a 2012 survey of employer health benefits conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Health insurance costs for small businesses have increased 103 percent since 2000, the survey reported.

The Health Insurance Tax - part of  the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, will hike family insurance premiums by $400, or 2.5 percent in 2016, making it even harder for farmers to purchase coverage, according to a report from the Joint Committee on Taxation.

This is why Norton, the New York farmer, supports a bipartisan effort in the U.S. House to repeal the annual fee on health care providers. HR 763, introduced by Reps. Charles Boustany, R-La., and Jim Matheson, D-Utah, would also prevent increases in insurance premiums for individuals and small businesses in the fully insured health insurance marketplace.

Norton told lawmakers most farmers and other small businesses do not self-insure because they do not have a large enough pool of employees, opting instead to purchase health insurance on the fully insured market.

Because the smallest employers rarely self-insure, they'll be hardest hit by the Health Insurance Tax. The Kaiser Family Foundation survey reported that only 15 percent of the smallest employers self-insure.

The Mayor's Panel was particularly interesting.  It demonstrated that slow but steady progress can been made toward integrating energy efficiency and green energy thoughts and ideas into communities when there is political leadership. Everyone in the room had to be envious of the Ann Arbor community.  Highlight for me?  Hearing that there is work being done on a bicycle assist device that uses a hydraulic mechanism to save the energy from braking and then will deliver that energy back to the wheels upon start up or to go up a hill.  This aging bicyclist can use that kind of a boost.  Next year the Energy Fair will be at the Ingham County Fairgrounds south of Lansing in Mason. The central location should boost attendance.

Certainly not some of Michigan's 60 small vineyard owners, who are a step closer to being able to hand out samples and sell wine at local farmers markets.

Under legislation unanimously approved May 7 by the  Michigan Senate, winemakers with annual production of up to 5,000 gallons will be able to sell wine outside the confines of their vineyards. Connoisseurs will be able to try before they buy - vineyards can provide up to three, two-ounce samples per customer.

About 60 of Michigan's more than 100 winemakers will be eligible to participate, based on annual production. Some larger wine producers say the bill is unfair and exclusionary.

The measure requires participating winemakers to pay a $25 permit fee at each farmers market they visit. Participation in local markets is also subject to approval from both the market and local law enforcement.

The Michigan Farmers Market Association supports the change, saying it will help promote and expand argi-tourism in Michigan.  Senate Bills 29 and 279 are now before the House Regulatory Committee.

The bills' sponsor, Sen. Geoff  Hansen, R-Hart, contends the measure will help bolster Michigan's wine industry,  which is "one of the strongest sectors of Michigan's economy.''

"We should give aspiring winemakers the opportunity to contribute to our state's economy and give people a Pure Michigan experience,'' he said in a posting on his website. "One way to do this is give them access to a venue that promotes their products to help them build a foundation for a long-term, profitable wine industry.''

If approved, the state Liquor Control Commission would be required to submit a report to House and Senate committees overseeing liquor control issues  within two  years of the bill's enactment. The report would assess the continued issuance of farmers market permits and provide date on the number of permit applications received each year and the number of permit applications approved. Also required would be a breakdown of the number of permits approved in each county.