Author: Erica Payne
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Cohabitation: estate planning and cohabitation agreements for unmarried couples are more important than you think
Meet Bill and Marilyn: Partners for Life Marilyn, who is in her early 70s, was distraught. Her life partner of the last 30 years, Bill, suffered memory loss and was not improving. His son became Bill’s guardian and conservator and just delivered an eviction notice to Marilyn. The son then moved Bill into his home to…
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Green Space: Erica interviews Attorney Marybeth Marin, divorce and custody attorney (Marquette)
As Taproot continues to redefine “general practice”, we are building a community with people who support our clients in other ways. Through our series, Green Space, we will feature interviews with people in our community that relate to what we’re writing and thinking about from week to week. To kick off our first interview, I…
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Divorce Month: Taproot offers Friendly Divorces, Directed Mediation, and Post-Divorce Help. Plus, Lessons from Erica’s divorce
The first divorce I ever did was my own. Even as a lawyer, the process was challenging to navigate while experiencing the emotional pain of divorce. FINALLY, I’m able to offer help to other people going through similar experiences. And this is just in time because January is Divorce Month in the USA! “Why, January?”…
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Taproot goes ALL-IN on Limited Scope Representation, a bittersweet goodbye to Josie, and hello, Emily!
Limited scope representation is here to stay! Six years ago, Michigan’s Supreme Court adopted rules that allowed lawyers to help a client through a portion of their legal project and the client could do the other part of the project. This is called limited scope representation. Taproot is proud to announce that all our services…
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Go Green, Go White Edition: Taproot partners with MSU faculty and students to improve your experience
In this week’s blog post, Ann reflects on her semester back in the college classroom with some reflections from her student, Neha. Taproot Law stands apart from traditional law firms because yes, we are a legal firm, and, we are a legal tech firm that provides user-friendly and educational services, resources, and digital tools to…
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An open letter to Delta County and Schoolcraft County leaders and innovators: Join me to bring legal services to your community
Hello innovators and leaders across the UP! Not sure if we’ve met, yet. I’m Erica Payne and I’m an attorney, based in Marquette since 2012. I left my traditional firm in 2022 after chronic pain made it an uncomfortable place to work, and I opened my own firm, Taproot Law, in 2023. While I still…
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Taproot’s Favorite Things: Our 2023 book recommendations
We’ve written here before about the books and podcasts that shape our work and thinking here at Taproot. In the spirit of the season, this week’s blog post features a few of our favorite things that you might pick up for your holiday reading or gift to someone else! Erica’s favorite thing: Lawyer Forward by…
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Ease, comfort, and next steps: “Preparing for the Death of a Loved One” Workshop
Taproot Law recently hosted a workshop about preparing for the death of a loved one and team member, Josie, is our guest blogger this week to share her take aways! It was a crisp and sunny November morning when we gathered at the local library to attend the “Preparing for the Death of a Loved…
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Difficult Conversations during the Holidays
TLDR: Ann hasn’t quite figured it out herself, but she’s here with some helpful resources That’s right, we are approaching another year of holidays and we know that while the season can be filled with joy, love, and festivities, stress and anxiety can also run high. It’s also a time that families and friends might…
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Where real estate meets the legal system: Gamifying together to better understand client needs
A collaboration opportunity Dickinson County realtor, Katie Cascioli, and I get together for dinner every few months. Since the beginning of time, she’s been my cousin-from-another-grandma. Our dads were besties, and we grew up together. As adults, we are friends and colleagues. We talk about everything from business to philosophy. No matter where the conversation…
[…] this week, we published a Green Space article featuring innovator Justin Carlson who is finding ways to make support more accessible…