The Lenawee County Probate & Juvenile Court allowed the second annual accounting for a supplemental-needs trust created for beneficiary Zachary Welday and granted the requested attorney fees, while the judge raised questions about the billing rates used for accounting preparation and asked counsel to ensure the beneficiary reviews the filings.

Lindsay Artis appeared on behalf of Richard Weldey, the trustee, and told the court the trust was performing well, most assets remained invested and family members were not drawing on the funds. Artis said the accounting included legal fees, CPA fees and federal and state tax payments and that all interested parties had been served with no objections received.

The judge noted a distinction in the law between attorney fee rates and fiduciary rates and questioned whether preparation of routine fiduciary accounting tasks should be billed at attorney rates. The court observed an accounting line billed at $355 per hour and referenced that paralegal or typical fiduciary rates in Lenawee have been allowed in the past at lower amounts; the judge said she would permit the accounting and the requested fees for now but asked counsel to have the client appear with the court next time to confirm the client reviewed the work and to reexamine billing rates against local case law and guidance. "I'm gonna allow it today, but I would request that you ... have your client here with us next time to verify that he's reviewed the work," the judge said.

Artis told the court that the office provides legal services and that Richard Weldey serves as the trustee; she said the firm’s billing reflects legal expertise used to prepare required filings. The judge also noted a paralegal entry at a lower hourly rate in the bill and encouraged counsel to reconcile the invoice descriptions and rates for consistency going forward.