Michele Fuller

Michele P. Fuller is the founder of Michigan Law Center, P.L.L.C. and Moving to Mastery, LLC, and President of Advocacy, Inc., a non-profit organization that serves as trustee of special needs and settlement trusts. Her law practice focuses on advocacy, protection, and asset preservation for persons with disabilities, including special needs planning, special needs trust administration, and settlement planning.

Michele was appointed Special Assistant Attorney General and designed the settlement process for the $600 million Flint Water Case. That work led to her induction as a Fellow of the Academy of Court-Appointed Neutrals. She has served as Chair of the Elder Law and Disability Rights Section (ELDRS) of the State Bar of Michigan, and holds leadership positions in several national organizations, including Advisory Board Member of the Academy of Special Needs Planners (ASNP) and the Michigan Chapter of NAELA Board of Directors. She is also active in the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and the Michigan Association for Justice (MAJ), is a regular contributor to the Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE), and serves on their Elder Law and Special Needs Advisory Board.

Michele is a frequent presenter for national and statewide organizations such as ElderCounsel, MassMutual, the American Bar Association, the American Association for Justice, the Michigan Association for Justice, the Institute of Continuing Legal Education, the Brain Injury Association of Michigan, and the Michigan Guardianship Association, among others.

Michele received the 2018 State Bar of Michigan Unsung Hero Award, given annually to an attorney demonstrating dedication in their practice for the betterment of others. She has been named to the Super Lawyers list for several years. Her other recognitions include the American Institute of Legal Counsel 10 Best Elder Law Attorneys and Distinguished Lawyers, Women-in-Law Elder Law and Special Needs Planning Attorney of the Year from Lawyer’s Monthly Magazine in 2016, and Parenting Magazine Top Special Needs Child Advocate in 2013.

Michele and her spouse, award-winning special needs attorney Kevin Urbatsch, frequently write together. Their publications include Administering the Michigan Special Needs Trust; the 2nd and 3rd editions of Administering the California Special Needs Trust; and Special Needs Trusts: Protect Your Child’s Financial Future, 6th and 7th editions, NOLO Press. She is also the author of Saving Grace, an elder law client’s experience.

Michele and Kevin have co-authored several nationally published articles, including Traps for the Unwary During Special Needs Trust Administration in Estates and Trusts Magazine; The Future of Planning for Persons with Disabilities, published in the Fall 2013 edition of the NAELA Journal; and Pooled Trusts: An Approach to Special Needs Planning for Families of Modest Means, published in the May-June 2013 edition of BiFocal, a Journal of the ABA Commission on Law and Aging. Michele has also contributed Planning for a Person with Disabilities, Considerations When Settling a Lawsuit for an Individual Lacking Capacity or a Minor, and Divorce and Disability: Identifying and Resolving the Unique Issues of a Spouse with Disabilities to the Michigan Bar Journal. Her work has also appeared in the MAJ Journal, Elder Law Answers, NAELA News, Trial Magazine for the AAJ, and other publications.

Michele graduated with Honors as a member of James Madison College at Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations. She then attended American University’s International Law Master’s program and obtained her Juris Doctor from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.