Rebecca K. Wrock

Estate Planning Attorney

Rebecca is a member of the Estate Planning Practice Team, handling all aspects of estate planning and settlement, including tax planning, cottage planning, charitable giving, business succession, long-term care planning, prenuptial agreements and estate and trust administration. From simple to sophisticated plans, she helps clients protect minor and adult children, spouses and unmarried partners, aging parents, loved ones with disabilities and those needing financial management support.

A significant part of Rebecca’s practice involves creating trusts for animal companions (pet trusts), and she frequently speaks and writes on the topic for community groups, law students and other attorneys. Additionally, her nonprofit experience includes serving as past chair of Barn Sanctuary’s board of directors and vice president of Attorneys for Animals’ board. She also helps nonprofits obtain and maintain tax-exempt status and has been named to Crain’s list of Notable Women in Nonprofits.

Rebecca is an adjunct faculty member at Wayne State University Law School, a contributor to the Institute of Continuing Legal Education and a Council Member for both the Probate & Estate Planning and Animal Law Sections of the State Bar of Michigan. Within the firm, she serves on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee and has been recognized for her contributions to the legal and wider communities by Michigan Lawyers Weekly, Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers and the National Law Review.

Experience

Design estate plans incorporating protections for minor and adult children, spouses and unmarried partners, aging parents, loved ones with disabilities, and loved ones who may need assistance with managing finances.

Design and implement strategies to reduce or eliminate estate, gift, generation skipping transfer, and income taxes.

Optimize outcomes for beneficiaries of irrevocable trusts via decanting.

Working with legal and tax counsel in other countries, formulate plans for clients with ties to multiple jurisdictions; advise on federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax planning based on citizenship, residency, asset situs, and other considerations; and advise fiduciaries regarding cross-border considerations for administering trusts and estates.

Counsel individuals and families on planning for the successful and harmonious transfer of cottage properties to the next generation, including creating structures for ongoing management, use, and transfer to successive generations.

Design pet trusts for individuals and couples for the care of their dogs, cats, horses, parrots, farm animals and other pets, including sprinkle trust structures for particular groupings of animals by species or common caretakers.

Advise trustees and personal representatives in their fiduciary obligations in administering trusts and estates.

Counsel nonprofit entities in formation and governance, including applying for tax-exempt status.

Honors and Recognitions

Best Lawyers in America^®, Ones to Watch, Nonprofit/Charities Law, Trusts and Estates, since 2022

Crain’s Detroit Business, Notable Women in Nonprofits, 2018

Michigan Lawyers Weekly, Up & Coming Lawyer, 2018

Hour Detroit^©, Top Attorneys: Outstanding Young Women Lawyers in Michigan, since 2017

Michigan Super Lawyers^®, Rising Star, Estate Planning and Probate, since 2016

Professional Affiliations

Florida Bar: Animal Law Section; Elder Law Section; Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section; Out of State Division

State Bar of Michigan: Animal Law Section, Council Member and Chair-Elect; Elder Law and Disability Rights Section; Probate and Estate Planning Section, Council Member

Washtenaw County Bar Association

Women Lawyers Association of Michigan: Oakland Chapter; Washtenaw County Chapter

Community Involvement

Animal Legal Defense Fund

Attorneys for Animals: vice president; Board member

Barn Sanctuary: past chairperson; Board member

Wayne State University Law School, adjunct professor

Publications

A Primer on Estate Planning for Clients with International Ties, Michigan Bar Journal (2024)

Michigan’s Uniform Power of Attorney Act Explained (Co-Author), Michigan Probate & Estate Planning Journal (2024)

Estate Planning for Athletes: Top Tips in Ten Minutes, ICLE (2023)

Draft a Cottage Trust: How-To Kit, ICLE (2023)

Drafting Pet Trusts: Top Tips in Ten Minutes, ICLE (2023)

Silent Trusts: Keeping Beneficiaries in the Dark or Enlightened Estate Planning? (Co-Author), Michigan Probate & Estate Planning Journal (2023)

Drafting the Michigan Trust – Specialty Trusts Chapter (Co-Author), ICLE (2020)

Planning for Pets with Default Provisions, Thoughtful Questions, and Compassionate Counseling, Michigan Bar Journal (2018)

Drafting Pet Trusts, ICLE (2017)

Pets Put Their Trust in Us – Put Them in the Trust: Default Provisions that Protect Pets, Michigan Bar Journal and Michigan Probate & Estate Planning Journal (2016)

Presentations

Special Issues with Estate Planning, ICLE (2023)

Estate Planning for Athletes: Top Tips in Ten Minutes, ICLE (2023)

Draft a Cottage Trust: How-To Kit, ICLE (2023)

Drafting Pet Trusts: Top Tips in Ten Minutes, ICLE (2023)

Pet Trusts, Michigan Humane Society (2023)

“Preserving Cottage Properties,” ICLE 32nd Annual: Drafting Estate Planning Documents (2023)

“Estate Planning for Pets,” Michigan State University College of Law (2022)

“How to Leave Your Fortune to Your Pets,” University of Michigan Law School (2020)

“Estate Planning for Millennials,” ICLE 59th Annual Probate and Estate Planning Institute (2019)

“Pet Trusts and Pet Planning” (2019 series)

“Planning for Pets,” ICLE 58th Annual Probate and Estate Planning Institute (2018)

“Six Feet Over, Six Feet Under: A Panel Discussion on the Rights of the Dying and Mourning” (2017)

“Protect Your Pet’s Future” (2017-2019 series)