"Excellent - very clear, responded to questions and needs - easy to understand and follow."
OKEMOS COMMUNITY EDUCATION
Okemos, Michigan
"I learned that having a will does not avoid probate. She did a great job. Very organized and easy to listen to."
STOCKBRIDGE COMMUNITY EDUCATION
Stockbridge, Michigan
"I enjoyed the casual, question-friendly format of your presentation. Good visual, easy to understand."
PERRY COMMUNITY EDUCATION
Perry, Michigan
"Thank you - you did a very nice job and made the course very interesting and informative."
HOLT COMMUNITY EDUCATION
Holt, Michigan
"Good, relaxed atmosphere."
STOCKBRIDGE COMMUNITY EDUCATION
Stockbridge, Michigan
"Very concise presentation."
DELTA TOWNSHIP DISTRICT LIBRARY
Lansing, Michigan
"Brought wills and trusts DOWN TO EARTH!"
PERRY COMMUNITY EDUCATION
Perry, Michigan
I earned my law degree at Wayne State University Law School in Detroit, Michigan. Within a year, I'd started my own practice with a unique approach: making house calls for local Michigan families who needed a will or trust. Now, over 30 years later, I'm still making house calls - working with real families just like yours who are looking for estate planning documents they can read and understand.
LANSING STATE JOURNAL | WEBBERVILLE, MICHIGAN 1996
Why did I choose this area of law?
There are several logical reasons and a few very personal ones. First off, I was very fortunate to get some great experience in the estate planning field as a young law student clerking at a very small but prestigious law firm then located in Detroit's Rennaissance Center.
Second, I have always enjoyed writing. Each family presents a new set of values to blend into a technical legal document that will express their wishes, meets their objectives and stands the test of time -- at least until they wish to change it!
While I'll save the personal reasons for a less public audience, let's just say I've seen my share of loss -- and with over 30 years of experience, I've shared the losses and struggles of countless others. In counseling my clients, I use my experience and knowledge of the law to help lighten the legal burden placed upon those suffering or anticipating the loss of a loved one.
THANK YOU.
I'd like to give thanks to each of my clients - for your business, return business and generous referrals. Each of you, in some small way, has contributed to the many years of experience that has transformed my practice into what it is today. Working with you has provided me an education worth many times more than the law degree I received over 30 years ago!
Special thanks to my fellow Wayne law alum, loyal friend, colleague and creative muse, Ingrid M. Andrews, a nationally-recognized legal advisor to the equine industry and owner of Tannewald Trakehners, Interlochen, Michigan.
And to my web designer, Kate Mickley of Kate Just Clicks, LLC, thank you for all of the hard work you’ve done to make my online presence professional and informative.
Finally, thank you to my supportive, understanding, dedicated and amazing husband - you will always be my hero - and to our 4 wonderful children. Each of you mean more to me than you could ever know.
-Jo Anne Hinds
JO ANNE AND VIOLET AT HOME IN PORTLAND, 2025
About me
A FEW COMMENTS FROM CLASSES, PRESENTATIONS, AND MORE...
MY FIRST OFFICE
OTTAWA ST, LANSING, MI
Why house calls?
I had been practicing law less than a year. My office was then located in a beautiful old duplex on Ottawa Street, just across from the Capitol Building in Lansing.
Unfortunately, the historic building had no elevator, and not one, but TWO sets of stairs to climb before reaching my office from the street.
It wasn't long until I started to receive phone calls from my clients. "Parking is too difficult to find downtown, will you meet me somewhere?" "I'm sorry, but Mom isn't able to make it up the stairs at your office..." "My Dad is in the hospital, can you meet him at Sparrow?"
And so it began, born of necessity, my practice of making house calls, and then not long after my educational programs offered at sometimes unique but always client-friendly locations. It didn't take long for the American Bar Association to notice and mention me and fellow lawyer Dan Kraft, in an article entitled, "A Lot Like House Calls (Except for the Cows)." You have to have a sense of humor, right? You'll find the short article here if you really wish to read it.
And now, 30 years later, I wouldn't have done it any other way. House calls, exclusively.
LEARN MORE
I earned my law degree (juris doctorate, or JD) at Wayne State University School of Law in Detroit, Michigan in 1993. Shortly thereafter, I moved to the Lansing area and within several years, I had started my own law practice focused on wills, trusts and estates.
