What if my spouse doesn’t want to be involved with the Medical Marijuana Facility Application?

Under current Michigan medical marijuana law, in order to file an application for a Michigan medical marijuana facility, you have to submit documentation for every person who is a “true party of interest” in the entity seeking a marijuana facility license.  

Michigan’s Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) has defined a “true party of interest” as:

• For a sole proprietorship – the individual and his or her spouse
  
• For a partnership and limited liability partnership – all partners and their spouses
  
• For a limited partnership and limited liability limited partnership – all general and limited partners and their spouses
  
• For a limited liability company (LLC) – all members, managers and their spouses
  
• For a privately held corporation – all corporate officers (or equivalent) and their spouses, and all stockholders and their spouses
  
• For a publicly held corporation – all corporate officers (or equivalent) and their spouses
  
• For a multi-level ownership enterprise – any entity or person that receives or has the right to receive a percentage of gross or net profit during any full or partial calendar or fiscal year
  
• For a nonprofit corporation – all individuals and entities with membership or shareholder rights under the articles of incorporation or bylaws and their spouses.

A recurring theme for all of these entity variations is that the spouses of any owners will have to disclose their information in the application as well as the State of Michigan considers them to be a “true party of interest”.  

But what if your spouse isn’t willing or doesn’t want to participate in the application process, or even sign the application?

According to LARA, if a spouse refuses to complete the required Supplemental Applicant Prequalification Packet (SAPP), a Power of Attorney can be obtained and utilized for the individual to complete the SAPP on their spouse’s behalf.  It is important to note that a general Power of Attorney will not be accepted – the Power of Attorney must be tailored to the specific circumstance.

While there would still need to be a supplemental application submitted on the spouses behalf, this would allow an applicant to complete the SAPP for their spouse and sign the documents on their spouse’s behalf, without involving their significant other in the application process.

If you need a Power of Attorney for this purpose, we recommend hiring an experienced Michigan medical marijuana attorney to help you draft one that will meet the requirements for LARA.

We can help. Call (248) 234-4060 today to schedule your FREE consultation!