Anthea E. Papista

(313) 965-1688
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Anthea E. Papista practices in two complementary areas: family law and trust and estate litigation, administration and planning.

Drawing upon extensive experience and a creative, detail-oriented approach, Ms. Papista advises clients in complex and high-net-worth divorce matters. Her cases frequently involve business valuations, business and retirement asset division, as well as custody and parenting time disputes, will and trust contests, administration and planning.

As a certified mediator, she is frequently appointed to mediate trust and estate disputes and to serve as a “neutral” in trust and estate litigation.

Ms. Papista serves as the Co-Chair and Co-Editor of the State Bar of Michigan’s Family Law Journal. She is an active member of the State Bar of Michigan’s Amicus Committee and the lead author of the Committee’s successful Michigan Supreme Court Brief in Von Greiff v VonGreiff.  She co-authored a recent Amicus Brief in In re Grablick Trust that is pending before the Michigan Supreme Court. She has lectured and written on many family law subjects and has been recognized as a “Michigan Super Lawyer” in Family Law and Estate and Trusts, a “Top Lawyer” by DBusiness, a “Top Attorney” by Crain’s Detroit Business and one of Hour Detroit’s “Top Women Attorneys.” She is also the Co-Editor of the LexisNexis Practice Guide on Michigan Family Law and authored the chapters on Marriage and Annulment and Jurisdiction. Ms. Papista currently serves as the Family Law Liaison for the State Bar of Michigan Probate and Estate Planning Section and served as an elected member of the State Bar of Michigan’s Family Law Council from 2013 to 2021. She is involved in the Detroit-area arts community, including her prior tenure on the Detroit Artists’ Market Executive Board of Directors, which allows her to pursue her passion for the arts.

Ms. Papista brings experience, a voice of reason and novel solutions to litigation’s highly charged atmosphere. She provides informed counsel on trust and estate matters to address each client’s unique situation.

Education

Wayne State University Law School

  • Master of Laws in Corporate and Finance Law, 2005

Michigan State University College of Law

  • Juris Doctor, Magna Cum Laude, 1993
  • Managing Editor for Outside Articles and Note & Comment Editor, Detroit College of Law – Law Review

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

  • Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, With Distinction, 1987
  • London School of Economics, Study Abroad, 1986-1987

BAR ADMISSIONS

  • State Bar of Michigan
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

Practice Areas

HONORS & AWARDS

  • Michigan Super Lawyer – Family Law (2016 – present)
  • Leading Lawyers (2020 – present)
  • Top Lawyers – Family Law, Business (2013, 2017 – present)
  • Top Woman Lawyer, Crain’s Detroit Business (2017)
  • Certified Family Law Practitioner, Institute of Continuing Legal Education (2008)
  • Certified Probate & Estate Planning Attorney, Institute of Continuing Legal Education (2007)

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

  • State Bar of Michigan
    • Member, Family Law and Probate & Estate Planning Sections
    • Co-Chair & Co-Editor-in-Chief, Michigan Family Law Journal
    • Member – Family Law Council’s Amicus Committee
  • Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association
  • Hellenic Bar Association of Michigan
    • President, 2000-2001
    • Executive Board, 1996-2001
    • Member, 1993 – present
  • Certified Mediator (2010 to present)
    • Oakland County Circuit Court
    • Wayne County Probate Court
  • Case Evaluator
    • Wayne County Circuit
    • Wayne County Probate Court
  • Macomb County Probate Bar Association
  • Oakland County Bar Association
  • Wayne County Family Law Bar Association
  • Wayne County Probate Bar Association
  • Hearing Chair, Attorney Discipline Board

 

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

  • Lakeshore Legal Aid – Volunteer for Home for Generations Project (2023)
  • Detroit Artists Market
    • Executive Board of Directors, 2009-2010

PUBLICATIONS

  • • “Marriage & Annulment,” LexisNexis Practice Guide: Michigan Family Law
  • “Jurisdiction,” LexisNexis Practice Guide: Michigan Family Law
  • “Falcon v. Memorial Hospital: Michigan’s New Cause of Action,” Detroit College of Law Review, Fall 1991

PRESENTATIONS

  • “Bridging the Gap Between Probate and Family Law,” Oakland County Bar Association, March 2016
  • “Protecting Privacy in Family Law,” Institute of Continuing Legal Education, November 2015
  • “Top Probate and Trust Issues that Arise in Divorce,” State Bar of Michigan Family Law Section, July 2015
  • “The Intersection of Probate and Divorce Capacity Issues in Divorce and EPIC Solutions,” State Bar of Michigan Family Law Section, July 2014