Instructors for Training for Guardians and Conservators in Macomb County
Michele P. Fuller is the founder of Michigan Law Center, P.L.L.C. and Advocacy, Inc., a non-profit corporation. Located in Shelby Township, Michigan, her probate practice focuses on elder law, special needs planning, and post-settlement planning. She is a frequent presenter for attorneys, paralegals, service providers and parent groups and regularly publishes articles for probate and trial lawyers on special needs trust and settlement issues.
Michele is involved in organizations at the local, state and national levels. She serves as Treasurer of the Macomb County Probate Bar Association and editor and contributor to its quarterly publication. At the state level, she is a council member for the Elder Law and Disability Rights Section (ELDRS) of the State Bar of Michigan and is directly involved in reforming the currently pending Pooled Trust Act. Michele is an active member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and Academy of Special Needs Planners (ASNP). Michele regularly contributes to the ASNP Special Needs Settlement Planning bi-monthly newsletter. Most recently she was a presenter at the Academy of Special Needs Planners annual conference and is a presenter for webinars on special needs planning for its members. She was also elected co-chair of the settlement planning committee, is a member of the model trust committee, and is representing the Academy as an exhibitor at the American Association for Justice national conference this summer.
Michele is honored to serve as the Director of Advocacy, Inc., a non-profit corporation dedicated to serving individuals with disabilities. Advocacy, Inc. offers special needs trust administration services of all types of special needs trusts. She is also a long standing member of the Michigan Association for Justice.
After graduating with Honors as a member of the James Madison College at Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations, Michele attended American University International Law Masters program and obtained her Juris Doctor from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.
Charlene M. Tope is president of an independent contract company,Probate Support Specialists, LLC, specializing in support to probate and estate planning attorneys.
Having graduated magna cum laude from her paralegal studies, Ms. Tope went on to work for the local probate court were she assisted the public in navigating their way through the legal system. Her skills were further honed by working for a public administrator, J. Russell LaBarge, Jr., who specialized in investigation of complex probate matters. Later, the opportunity rose to supervise the local county's guardianship program, wherein a very unique criminal prosecution furthered her education. Realizing that she could utilize her talents assisting attorneys on extremely difficult cases, she launched her own company that performs a combination of public guardianship and specialized support services to attorneys and the bench.
Charlene is active in the Michigan Guardianship Association, is a SCAO-certified mediator, and holds many board positions in various organizations dedicated to advancing education.
Kate White, Executive Director, Elder Law of Michigan has led this mission-based non-profit from "three lawyers in a phone booth" to a nationally recognized provider of legal and aging services. Once limited to serving people in Michigan, the organization has grown to become a national voice in the conversation around independence and economic security for all people at all ages. Elder Law of Michigan is best known for the Legal Hotline for Michigan Seniors, which provides legal advice and information to adults age 60 and older over the telephone, at no charge. The organization’s mission is to promote and protect the rights, health and economic well-being of people as they age or people with disabilities through information, advocacy, legal advice and professional services. (www.elderlawofmi.org or 866-400-9164)
Ms. White has a background in Humanities, with a Bachelors Degree from Michigan State University. Her career encompasses experience in the public and private sector in government, aging, employment and training and resource development. She presently serves on the State Bar of Michigan's Internal Cabinet, the State Bar of Michigan's State Planning Body, the Michigan Department of Community Health's Consumer Task Force, and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan's Senior Advisory Council. She joined Elder Law in 1996.
Patricia Patterson Courie has been an attorney for 23 years, and is a solo practitioner limiting her practice to probate administration, guardianships, conservatorships, trust administration and estate planning. She is a graduate of both University of Detroit College of Business (summa cum laude) and University of Detroit Law School (magna cum laude). For the past 23 years, Ms. Patterson has served as an adjunct professor at University of Detroit Mercy Law School teaching Estates and Trusts. Ms. Patterson authored the chapter on Conservatorships in the Michigan Guardianship and Conservatorship Handbook for the Institute of Continuing Legal Education.
