Jeffrey J. Michalowski

One of the founding partners of Serafini, Michalowski, Derkacz and Associates, P.C., Jeff focuses his practice in the areas of elder law, estate planning, trust administration, probate administration, and corporate law. Jeff grew up in Sterling Heights and is happy to return to Macomb County to practice law.

Jeff graduated from Sterling Heights High School. He graduated at the top of his class while playing football and earning honors in the classroom and on the football field. Following graduation, Jeff went on to study business administration and accounting while playing football at Adrian College in Adrian, Michigan. He graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an accounting major and an economics minor. A two-year recipient of the prestigious Dawson Business Scholarship at Adrian College, Jeff set his sights on law school and chose to continue his studies at Wayne State University School of Law in 1997. Graduating from law school, Jeff sought a career to apply both accounting and business, together, with the practice of law.

Prior to establishing Serafini, Michalowski, Derkacz & Associates, P.C., Jeff worked with a large regional accounting and business consulting firm, an insurance defense law firm and a business law firm specializing in corporate law, business formation, business consulting and private equity matters. After working with an elder law and estate planning firm from 2003 through 2005, Jeff left the firm to form Serafini, Michalowski, Derkacz and Associates, P.C., together with Phillip S. Serafini, in early 2006. Shortly thereafter, they were joined by Patrick J. Derkacz. The firm grew quickly to become a general practice firm offering expertise in specialized practice areas, including: no-fault and auto-law; longterm disability insurance claims and disputes; and, elder law—areas of practice that the firm is recognized locally and nationally. Today the firm enjoys being a neighborhood firm meeting almost all of its community’s legal needs.

From 2006 to present, Jeff has maintained his elder law and estate planning focus while assisting clients in other aspects of law including corporate planning, consulting and litigation. He has assisted thousands of local area families with the difficult task of finding longterm-care planning solutions for their aging loved-ones while protecting estates from Medicaid “spend-down” and estate recovery. He is passionate about helping families find the best quality of care at the lowest cost possible. Jeff also enjoys helping families and business owners plan for the future through the use of estate planning and business succession planning.

Jeff is actively involved with several business and professional development groups and continuing education. He is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), the Elder Law Section of the Michigan Bar, VAGA (a veteran’s legal and financial planning group), local area chambers of commerce and the North Macomb Business Professionals Breakfast Group. Jeff recently became a Trustee of the Macomb County Bar Foundation and is also an Associate Director of the National Polish American Sports Hall of Fame.

Jeff remains actively involved in sports. He founded a local youth baseball organization, coaches both football and baseball and founded a State of Michigan Non-Profit Corporation to assist with youth sports organizational funding. He also enjoys playing golf and hockey. Jeff and his family reside in Macomb County.