James H. Loprete
 

is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), one of approximately 2,400 attorneys worldwide who hold this honor. He graduated with distinction from the University of Michigan Law School where he was a member of the Law Review. He began his legal career with the Chrysler Corporation in the Secretary's office and legal department then went into private practice. Mr. LoPrete is a past chair of the Probate and Estate Planning Section of the State Bar of Michigan and a past Michigan State chair of ACTEC.
 

His primary areas of practice are estate planning, the post-death administration of decedent's affairs and corporate and business transactions. He has represented publicly held and private corporations in merger and acquisition work and defending proxy fights. He represents individuals and their businesses during their lifetime and passing them to the next generation at death.
 

Mr. LoPrete is an academician in the International Academy of Estate and Trust Law. He is a member and past director of the Financial and Estate Planning Council of Metropolitan Detroit and serves on the Board of Directors of various for-profit and non-profit corporations. A member of the ACTEC litigation committee, Mr. LoPrete represents fiduciaries and individuals in probate and trust litigation. He has been cited by the Michigan Court of Appeals as an expert witness in probate and trust matters and has served as a part-time adjunct instructor of legal writing at Wayne State University Law School.
 

Throughout his career, Mr. LoPrete has been a lecturer before Michigan lawyers, corporate trustee department personnel, and other professional groups on various topics related to estate and trust administration. He has mentored generations of trust and estate attorneys.
 

Recent Experience:

• 2021: Currently serving as expert witness in a matter of first impression for damages for breach of trust
• 2021: ongoing representation of five generations of four prominent local families, focusing on estate, trust, guardianship and conservatorship matters

Bar Admissions:

• Michigan, 1954
• U.S. Eastern District of Michigan, 1954
• U.S. Tax Court, 1976
• U.S. Sixth Circuit Court, 2009

Areas of Practice:

• Estate Planning
• Post-Death Administration of Decedent's Affairs
• Estate, Trust and Probate Litigation
• Corporate and Business Transactions

Education:

• The University of Michigan Law School, Ann Arbor, Michigan

  • J.D., With Distinction

  • University of Michigan Law Review, Senior Editor

• University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, B.A.

Memberships and Involvements:

• Member, Michigan Bar Association
  • Probate and Estate Planning Section, Member
• Fellow, The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), 1979 to Present
  • Past Michigan State chair
  • Current Member of Litigation Committee
• Academician, International Academy of Estate and Trust Law, 1981 - Present
• President, Samuel L. Westerman Foundation
• President, University of Michigan Club of Greater Detroit Scholarship Fund
• President, Louis and Nellie Sieg Fund
• President, Frank and Gertrude Dunlap Fund
• Trustee, John R. and M. Margrite Davis Foundation
• Trustee, Clannad Foundation
• Member, Financial and Estate Planning Council of Metropolitan Detroit
• Past memberships and involvements
  • Chair, State Bar of Michigan, Probate and Estate Planning Section
  • Director, Financial and Estate Planning Council of Metropolitan Detroit
  • Part-time Adjunct Instructor of Legal Writing, Wayne State University Law School
  • Speaker at Institute of Continuing Legal Education; Trust Division of Michigan Bankers Association; and Financial and Estate Planning Council of Metropolitan Detroit programs

Awards and Recognitions:

• Who's Who in America

• Who's Who in American Law

• Best Lawyers in America