Bloomfield Hills,
Michigan
Mary T. Schmitt Smith advises clients about estate planning, tax, and probate options, with a distinct focus on drafting and administration of special needs trusts. She is Michigan’s first Certified Elder Law Attorney. Ms. Smith served on the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys Board of Directors and was recognized as a fellow of the academy in 2003. In 2005, she established the Theresa Law Center, PC. She has received an AV-rating from Martindale-Hubbell for the past 16 years and has been recognized as a Super Lawyer for the past 9 years. She became the 9th annual recipient of the national Theresa Foundation Award in recognition of her community service for people with disabilities in 2003. Ms. Smith received the EP Maxwell J. Schleifer Distinguished Service Award at Disability Awareness Night at Comerica Park in August 2011. Ms. Smith is a past president of the ARC of Oakland County, Inc., the nation’s sixth-largest ARC, and served on the board of directors for a dozen years, then on the Advisory Board for more than a decade. She is also a member of the ElderCounsel Advisory Board. Ms. Smith is a founding member of the Special Needs Alliance, a national network of lawyers dedicated to disability and public benefits law. She has presented on probate, tax, estate planning, and special needs trust topics for bar associations and law schools in Michigan, Florida, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Texas, and New Jersey, as well as NAELA. She is admitted to practice before the U.S. Tax Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals (6th Circuit), where she successfully appealed a federal district court decision interpreting Medicaid law in favor of a trustee of a special needs trust. Ms. Smith has published numerous articles in such publications as "Michigan Bar Journal" and "Laches."
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