Zeni Law Introduction to Estate Planning

By Adil James, TMO

Serene Zeni discusses estate planning before the Bloomfield audience.

March 21–Bloomfield—This Friday Bloomfield’s Unity Center hosted an estate planning seminar conducted by professional legal experts knowledgeable in Islamic planning.
Zeni Law is a Muslim law firm based in Troy Michigan.   They practice in the areas of estate planning, health care law, and real estate. 

Serene Zeni and Serene Kashlan (yes, the same first name) presented the basics of the estate planning field to an assembled group of perhaps fifty people at the Unity Center’s Friday night event.

The essence of the presentation was that estate planning should not be left to chance and should not be left unresolved–and that the rules of the Middle East pertaining to estate planning definitely do not apply in the United States therefore people from the Middle East must make preparations in order to avoid unwanted surprises. 

A will is necessary, both because of the order from Prophet (s) that believers have a will and because guardianship of one’s children is determined either by a will or by the determination of a judge who may or may not be sympathetic to the religious views of the decedent or the decedent’s family.

Probate, the lawyers explained, should be avoided because of the long delay in the process (best case it will take one year to resolve) and because all of the probate proceedings will be public record and therefore open to the prying eyes of anyone with the know-how to investigate a decedent’s personal business.

Trusts and powers of attorney are also vital estate planning tools, they explained, because they enable a person to make a careful strategy in advance to shift money to following generations in a manner that completely avoids probate if done correctly and minimizes taxes as well.

Powers of attorney are vital to make plans and simplify decision-making in the event of a person’s incapacity.

The lawyers displayed a comprehensive knowledge of federal and Michigan law and also both confidence and competence. 

Another vital feature is Islamic estate planning.  One vital lesson of their speech was that Islamic estate planning or Shari’ah compliant estate planning cannot really be done by someone who is not Muslim because the common theme among such practitioners–who want to bring in Muslim clients by offering Shari’ah compliant planning–is that they may not have true respect for the spirit of Islamic law but may rather work around the letter of Islamic law while violating the spirit of the law.

A lively question and answer session followed, and both attorneys fielded questions very ably.

Zeni Law offers estate plans for uncomplicated estates for $1,500 for individuals and $2,000 for couples.

If you are interested in using their estate planning services, please contact Zeni Law directly via their website at zenilaw.com or at 248-876-3326.

16-14