About Us

Charles Hoffman is a proud resident of the City of Ann Arbor and is the founding member of Lake Property Law, PLC, which represents clients throughout Michigan. The law firm specializes in titles and rights in lands adjacent to and under water bodies.

Charles is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Detroit College of Law. In addition, he has practiced in real estate and served as city, township and road commission field for over 40 years. He is primarily focused in the field of boundary law, especially as it pertains to inland lake upland and bottomland ownership and rights. His current practice includes Ann Arbor and all of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan.

The following are just a few of his current specialty areas of focus:

Saving the Lake and Property Rights in Front of the Cottage

Buying and Selling Lake and Residential Properties

U.S. Constitution and Congressional Acts regarding Water Boundaries

Public Land Survey System

Original Federal Patents and Plats

Federal Government Subdivision and Riparian Boundary Law and Descriptions

State Survey Laws and Creation of Water Bodies

Property Boundary Lines and Descriptions

Subdivision Roads, Streets, Easements and Access to Waters

Upland and Bottomland Titles/Easements

Riparian Liability and Insurance

Liability and Insurance Concerns on Water-Covered (Patented) Lands

Funnel Development and Back Lot Rights

Township and County Jurisdiction to Regulate Water Bodies

Highways, Roads and Streets

Wills, Powers of Attorney, Advance Directives, and Probate Avoidance.

After over 40 years of continued practice in the municipal, highways and streets and lake litigation areas, Charles has more recently spent thousands of hours concentrating primarily in Michigan ownership issues of bottomlands of all types of water bodies. He has researched text books, statutes, federal and state cases, essays, treatises, maps, descriptions, patents, federal government plats, field notes, historical documents, conveyances, and state and federal websites. As a result, he has developed an expertise in bottomland titles and rights in inland waters, whether they be lakes, ponds, rivers or streams. He has a firm knowledge base of Michigan’s bottomland history and an understanding of state and federal law regarding the entire subject matter. He is able to quickly determine titles in water covered lands all over the state. He knows the law regarding the boundaries and limits of these waterways and the rights to regulate them

He has maintained a practice in Washtenaw County for 10 years. He served as Co-Chair of the Real Estate Section of the Washtenaw County Bar Association from 2015-2017.