Robert D. "Bob" Brower - Lawyer in Grand Rapids, MI

RobertD. Brower is a Member of the firm and has been practicing law since 1972. His practice is focused on representing awide range of closely held business owners and executives, their families,fiduciaries, and other individuals in matters involving business and estateplanning, probate and trust administration, and contested estate matters.

Contested Trust, Estateand Fiduciary Matters

Mr. Brower has extensive experience in representingindividual and corporate personal representatives, trustees, and otherfiduciaries, and charities and individuals seeking to remove fiduciaries incontested will, trust, and estate matters. He has represented clients in these types of cases in courts throughout Michigan.

Manyof the cases for which Mr. Brower is retained involve complex family disputesor situations where caregivers or others have exercised undue influence orabsconded with estate assets. As an example,he represented adopted siblings in a multi-million dollar estate dispute withtheir adopting parents biological children that extended over four differentstates and jurisdictions. In othermatters, Mr. Brower has been retained to represent charities, family members,and fiduciaries in situations involving the exercise of undue influence wherethe challenge has been to return removed assets back to an estate ortrust. Additionally, Mr. Brower hasrepresented beneficiaries in a number of cases where a trustee or otherfiduciary has acted outside of their prescribed role, including acts of selfdealing or charging excessive fees, and has sought to remove suchtrustees/fiduciaries in trial and appellate court. Individual and corporate fiduciaries have retainedMr. Brower to defend against such claims in court or negotiations. Further, Mr. Brower has played a lead role innumerous actions seeking to construe or interpret testamentary documents. Finally, Mr. Brower has served as an expertwitness in numerous cases concerning fiduciary conduct and estateadministration matters.

Succession/TransitionPlanning

Mr.Brower has significant experience counseling owners and family members ofclosely held companies in matters relating to transitioning business assets forwealth preservation and estate planning. This counsel includes developing succession plans that minimize taximpacts and transition wealth to lower generation family members or otherstaking over the business. His work hasinvolved many types of business entities, including manufacturers, serviceproviders, and automobile dealerships and distributorships. In one particularly complicated matter, Mr.Brower assisted in the negotiation of a multi-million dollar sale of anautomobile distributorship, with multiple owners, back to the manufacturer. The transaction involved a number of complexplanning and taxation issues.

EstatePlanning

Mr.Brower has an extensive estate planning practice that involves developingestate plans, setting up trusts, counseling clients on estate and gift taxationand charitable giving, and handling probate and trust administration matters.

ProfessionalAffiliations, Activities and Honors

Mr. Brower currently serves on The AmericanCollege of Trust and Estate Counsels Fiduciary Litigation Committee. He has been active with the State Bar ofMichigan Probate and Estate Planning Section and has held several otherpositions over the years including as theEx Officio Chair. He served as adirector of Meritas, an international law firm alliance. Further, he serves on the boards of severalclosely held businesses.

Mr.Brower is a member of the American Bar Association, State Bar of Michigan,Grand Rapids Bar Association, and the West Michigan Planned GivingAssociation. Mr. Brower has also heldboard level positions for the Western Michigan Estate Planning Council. Additionally, Mr. Brower is a former ManagingMember of the law firm having served from 1992 -2000.

Mr. Brower is a Fellow of the American Collegeof Trust and Estate Counsel as well as the Michigan State Bar Foundation. He is listed in The Best Lawyers inAmerica? for trusts and estates, litigation- trusts and estates and tax lawand has been named as Best Lawyers 2013 Grand Rapids Trusts andEstates Lawyer of the Year. Mr. Broweris named a Michigan Super Lawyer recognized for estates and trust litigation,the Top 50 Michigan Consumer Super Lawyer list and is on the Michigan Top 100list In 2013, Mr. Brower was recognizedby Michigan Lawyers Weekly as one of30 «Leaders in the Law» for Michigan.

Education

Mr. Brower receivedhis law degree from the University of Michigan in 1972 and his undergraduate degree in 1969from Albion College. He is admitted to practice in all Michigan state andappellate courts.