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213 S Ashley St Ste 400
Ann Arbor,
Michigan
48104-1653
Phone: 734-913-5586
Fax: (616) 774-2461
Probate & Estate Planning Advisory Board Member
Practice areas: Probate/Estate Planning
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Richard C. Mills advises families, charitable donors, and charitable foundations regarding trusts and estates and charitable giving. Mr. Mills has been involved in the drafting of all major Michigan trust legislation since the enactment of the Michigan Trust Code, including Michigan's trust decanting, domestic asset protection trust, divided and directed trusteeship, and quiet trust laws, as well as current unitrust and private trust company legislative proposals. He is a past chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) Real Property Trust and Estate (RPTE) Law Section's Charitable Planning and Organizations Group and currently serves on the RPTE Section’s Continuing Legal Education Committee. In 2024, Mr. Mills testified on behalf of the ABA RPTE Section before a Department of Treasury hearing on proposed treasury regulations regarding donor-advised funds and the Michigan Senate Judiciary Committee on behalf of the Probate and Estate Planning Section regarding a version of the Uniform Premarital and Marital Agreements Act. In 2024, he was also appointed by the ABA RPTE Section to serve as its advisor to the Uniform Law Commission's Uniform Transfers to Minors Act Drafting Committee. Mr. Mills is the vice chair of the Probate and Estate Planning Council of the State Bar of Michigan and a former associate editor of the Michigan Probate and Estate Planning Journal. He cochairs the Probate Council's Legislative Drafting and Development Committee and serves on its Charitable and Exempt Organizations Committee, along with the Business Law Section’s Nonprofit Corporation Committee. Mr. Mills has been named a Michigan Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers in estate planning and probate since 2020 and was previously named a Rising Star from 2013 to 2019. He was also named a Best Lawyer in American in trusts and estates in 2025. Mr. Mills is a frequent speaker and has spoken at national conferences and in CLE webinars. He is the coeditor of the book “Drafting the Michigan Trust” and the author of its chapter on charitable trusts. Mr. Mills has written articles for Estate Planning, The Michigan Tax Lawyer, The Michigan Probate and Estate Planning Journal, Probate & Property, and Planned Giving Today. Mr. Mills has also earned the designation of Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP®) from the American College of Financial Services.
Featured ICLE Contributions:
Drafting the Michigan Trust, Fourth Edition (Book)
Probate & Estate Planning Institute, 63rd Annual (Seminar)
Probate & Estate Planning Institute, 65th Annual (Seminar)