Mara Kent

Board Member, Washtenaw County Bar Association
Board Member, Shelter Association of Washtenaw County
Board Member, Ann Arbor Active Against ALS
Member, National Association of Estate Planners & Councils
Member, National Association of Charitable Gift Planners
Past Chair, current member, Estate Planning and Probate Section, Washtenaw County Bar Association 2018-2020
Member, Probate and Estate Planning, Tax Law, and Elder Law sections of the Michigan State Bar
Member, Washtenaw County Estate Planning Council
Member, The Planned Giving Roundtable of Southeast Michigan
Member, Women’s Lawyers Association of Washtenaw County
Presenter, “Tax Law Series: Federal Tax Insights (estate planning),” Institute of Continuing Legal Education 2021
Presenter, Women’s Lawyer’s Association, Covid-19 & Women Webinar 2020
Presenter, Ann Arbor Cable TV "Leave A Legacy" Campaign 2019
Presenter, "End of Life Care and Treatment," Institute of Continuing Legal Education 2019
Probate and Estate Planning Certificate, Institute of Continuing Legal Education
Elder Law Certificate, Institute of Continuing Legal Education

“I am privileged to help clients plan for life’s most important and challenging events. I thoroughly enjoy the life-long friendships I establish with my clients, and I am so grateful and humbled when I earn a client’s trust and have them recommend me to their friends and family.”

Mara Kent is compassionate, honest, and thorough in providing legal services to her clients. Licensed since 1996, Mara’s practice includes estate planning, wills, trusts and trust administration, probate, special needs planning, estate planning for surrogacy, international estate planning, prenuptial agreements, step-parent and same sex adoptions, elder law and long-term care planning, and business & contract law.

Mara believes that a solid estate plan is a priceless gift to your family and future generations. To that end, Mara helps families plan for major life events, anticipating problems before they arise to minimize court involvement, expense, and stress. She helps clients avoid potential family conflicts over their future care, care of loved ones, or distribution of their estate.

Mara received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, where she graduated second in her law school class. While in law school, she worked in the Office of General Counsel for Ford Motor Company and went on to distinction as a law clerk for former Michigan Supreme Court Justice Michael F. Cavanagh. From 2000–2014, Mara was a tenured professor at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School and continues as a Senior Professor Emerita.

In addition to her practice, Mara is a committed to community service and pro bono legal services.  She volunteers as a board member for the Washtenaw County Bar Association, the Shelter Association of Washtenaw County, and Ann Arbor Active Against ALS.  She also volunteers her time and legal services to Habitat for Humanity clients with estate planning and probate needs, pro bono probate counseling for the Washtenaw County Probate Court, the Homes for Generations partnership with the Washtenaw County Bar Association, and the A-MAIZE-ing Blue Crew, which provides support to University of Michigan students in Quarantine or Isolation Housing due to Covid-19 and other illnesses. She and her spouse are both U-M graduates and natives of Ann Arbor.  When she is not working or volunteering, Mara enjoys running, gardening, and being outdoors.  Mara is an ally of the LGBTQ+ community and proud supporter of her friends and clients who are of diverse racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and religious backgrounds. 

Pronouns: she/her/hers