Varnum partner Kathleen Cieslik has been elected to serve a three-year term as a Council Member of the Probate and Estate Planning Section of the State Bar of Michigan, beginning in September 2024. The council oversees Michigan’s probate and estate planning attorneys, focusing on education, law development, and Michigan appellate court decisions.
Cieslik has long been an active member of the Probate and Estate Planning Section, currently chairing the Electronic Wills Committee and contributing to legislation for Michigan’s Uniform Power of Attorney Act. Her committee work also includes involvement with Citizens Outreach; Guardian, Conservatorship & End of Life; Nonbanking Entity Trust Powers; the Uniform Fiduciary Income and Principal Act; and the Uniform Community Property Disposition at Death Act.
In her trusts and estates practice at Varnum, Cieslik assists individuals and multi-generational families with customized estate planning and provides counsel to fiduciaries on managing trusts and estates. An experienced litigator, she frequently handles probate matters, both routine and contested, throughout Southeast Michigan.
Cieslik’s other affiliations include the Board of Directors for the Planned Giving Roundtable of Southeast Michigan, the Oakland County Bar Association, and the Financial and Estate Planning Council of Metro Detroit. She is also a member of the Detroit Regional Chamber’s 45th Leadership Detroit Cohort.