Law Office of Michael W. Cooper

I represent individuals, families, and small business owners throughout Northern California in all aspects of estate planning, business planning, life care planning, wealth preservation, asset protection, and family law. My primary purpose is to provide each of my clients with the information and resources they need to be successful with their estate plans and family transitions. I am a knowledgeable estate planning and family lawyer who understands the value of establishing long-term relationships of trust and confidence with my clients.

Family Law Category:

Divorce, and Dissolution of Non-Marital Relationships:
In cases of divorce, or dissolution of a domestic partnership or other non-marital relationship, we anticipate spouses or partners will commit to resolution of their differences by means of mediation or the collaborative law process. California law authorizes both mediation and collaborative practice in family law cases.

Except in enforcement-of-judgment cases, or unusual circumstances about which the prospective client is invited to inquire in a free consultation, I do not take divorce or partnership dissolution cases in which the parties are not prepared to make this commitment.

Consumer-friendly books and articles about mediation and collaborative law are available on the Nolo Press website at www.nolo.com

Family Formation:
Families may be formed by statutory means, as in the case of marriage or registered domestic partnership, or by informal means, such as written or unwritten agreements to live together and do such things as acquire property together and raise children together. In any type of family formation, the parties may adopt children or assume guardianship of children.
In the case of unmarried life-partners in either a statutory or informal long-term partnership, it is very important that both persons have powers of attorney for health care and financial management, and HIPAA waivers, to prevent a life-partner from being shut out by the others family in case the other becomes seriously ill or incapacitated. Needless to say, unmarried life-partners should also be careful to do their estate planning as close to the beginning of their relationship as possible, so their beneficial intentions are not thwarted by the laws of intestacy.

Elder Law:
I have many years of experience in elder law matters, and I am a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. My practice includes Medicaid and Medicare planning, Advanced Health Care Directives and Powers of Attorney, asset protection, conservatorships, life care planning, and tax planning.

Other Family Law Matters:
Other kinds of family law cases and concerns are also listed on the opening page, under the tab, "Types of Cases." I offer counsel and representation in all such matters.

Wills, Trusts & Estates Category:
I handle my clients' living trusts, wills, probate administration, trust administration, and advanced estate planning matters with diligence and care, based on 29 years of experience as an Attorney and Counselor at Law in California.

I also help small businesses with business and tax planning, and coordination of business strategies with long-term plans for business management succession, family legacies and charitable giving, as well as asset protection and wealth preservation.

Specific estate planning cases and concerns are listed on the opening page, under the tab, "Types of Cases." I offer counsel, document preparation and representation in all such matters.

I have 29 years of experience as an Attorney and Counselor at Law in California. I brought my expertise, experience and practice to the Town of Paradise, in Butte County, in the summer of 2008, after retirement from government practice.

In probate, a case of simultaneous death of husband and wife, both intestate, both in second marriage, both with separate property as well as community property - represented administrator of husband's estate - settled case with wife's estate, and vice versa, based on persuasive legal research and writing regarding the interplay of family law and probate law as applied to the particular circumstances of this dual-probate case.

In children's rights, a parentage case in which both possible fathers of the child opposed a finding of paternity - through permissive joinder and persuasive legal research and writing, focused on the child's constitutional rights, and enforced genetic testing over right-of-privacy and other objections, resulting in favorable determination of paternity consistent with the child's rights.