Lansing

313 South Washington Square

Lansing, MI 48933-2114

T: 517.371.8203

F: 517.371.8200

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Douglas A. Mielock

A native of Lansing, Doug Mielock joined Foster Swift in 1993.  He is the leader of Foster Swift’s Trusts & Estates Group.  Devoted to helping clients achieve their goals, Doug represents and counsels clients in the following areas:

• Estate Planning - Meets with clients to determine their goals. Draft wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and other documents to achieve these goals, including the avoidance or reduction of federal income tax and federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax.
• Estate Litigation - Represents fiduciaries and beneficiaries in probate court litigation. This includes disputes such as the construction of wills and trusts, the contested validity of wills and trusts, and breach of trust actions brought against fiduciaries.
• Estate Administration - Represents fiduciaries and beneficiaries in the administration of probate estates and trust estates following the death of an intestate decedent, testator, or settlor.
• Marital Agreements - Counsels individuals on their legal rights prior to marriage. Drafts pre-marital and post-marital agreements.

Doug is a frequent speaker on trust and estate-related topics. He has addressed dozens of groups and forums throughout Michigan, including testimony before state legislative committees, and is a member of the Probate Advisory Committee for the Institute of Continuing Legal Education.  It's for these reason that Douglas is a highly sought after estate planning attorney in Lansing.

Highlights & Recognitions

Representative Matters

• Develop, draft, and implement estate plans that permitted clients to pass a significant amount of wealth free of federal estate tax at death.
• Successfully represented beneficiaries of $7.5 million trust in defending action contesting validity of trust.
• Successfully represented beneficiary under unsigned draft amendment in trust action to establish validity of unsigned trust amendment.
• Successfully represented bank trustee in defending separate actions for breach of trust brought by beneficiaries of multi-million dollar trusts.
• Represented beneficiaries of trust in successfully defending multiple actions brought contesting validity of trust; obtained complete victory for clients following bench trial.

News

• 21 Foster Swift Attorneys named to 2011 Michigan Super Lawyers; 4 named Michigan Rising Stars, September 12, 2011
• 18 Foster Swift Lawyers Included on 2010 Super Lawyers List, October 28, 2010
• Foster Swift's 2011 Best Lawyers, August 17, 2010
• Nineteen Foster Swift Attorneys Named in 2009 Super Lawyers, September 22, 2009
• Foster Swift Announces 2009 Best Lawyers, August 18, 2009
• Foster Swift Announces 2009 Executive Committee & Practice Group Leader Appointments, February 12, 2009
• Foster Swift Announces 2008 Best Lawyers In America, September 18, 2008

Speaking Engagements

• Probate Litigation Under the Michigan Trust Code, 50th Annual Probate and Estate Planning Institute, State Bar of Michigan, Probate and Estate Planning Section, May/June 2010
• Drafting Trust Protector Provisions, 19th Annual Drafting Estate Planning Documents Seminar, Institute for Continuing Legal Education, January/February 2010
• Michigan Trust Code Preview: Conversations with the Commentator - Trust Protectors, Institute for Continuing Legal Education, November 2009
• The Wrap of RAP: What You Should Know About the New Michigan Rule Against Perpetuities, 49th Annual Probate and Estate Planning Institute, State Bar of Michigan, Probate and Estate Planning Section, May/June 2009
• Drafting with the New Michigan Rule Against Perpetuities, 18th Annual Drafting Estate Planning Documents Seminar, Institute for Continuing Legal Education, January/February 2009
• Post-Death Estate Planning Issues, Financial Planning Association of Michigan, June 2008

For more, click here

Publications

• Avoiding Conflict Over Tangible Personal Property, Foster Swift Estate Planning Insights, Fall 2010
• Michigan Trust Code Takes Effect April 1, 2010, Foster Swift Estate Planning Insights, Winter 2009
• Recent Court of Appeals Case Highlights Importance of Estate Planning in Multiple Marriage Situations, Foster Swift Estate Planning Insights, Winter 2009
• Nonprobate Transfers Under the Estate Settlement Act, Michigan Probate & Estate Planning Journal, Summer 1995
• GRATs & QPRTs - Sophisticated Planning Techniques for Selective Situations, Ingham County Bar Association Briefs, 1995
• The Use of Multiple-Party Accounts as Nonprobate Transfer Devices, Michigan Probate & Estate Planning Journal, Spring 1992

For more, click here

Memberships & Affiliations

Legal Affiliations:

• State Bar of Michigan, Probate and Estate Planning Section
• American Bar Association; Real Property Section, Probate and Trust Law Section
• Ingham County Bar Association

Industry & Professional Associations:

• The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, Fellow
• Institute of Continuing Legal Education, Probate Advisory Committee
• Greater Lansing Estate Planning Council

Community Involvement:

• Capital Region Community Foundation
• Member of the Board of Trustees since 2006
• Treasurer,  2007- 2009
• Chair, 2011
• Sparrow Foundation, Planned Giving Committee Member, Past Chairperson
• Elder Law of Michigan, Inc., Board Member, Past Chairperson