McDonald Hopkins welcomes Erika Apelis to Business Department and Estate Planning and Probate team

CLEVELAND — Erika Apelis has joined the Cleveland office of McDonald Hopkins LLC as Counsel in the Business Department, adding her experience to the firm’s Estate Planning and Probate team. 

A passionate estate planning attorney who advocates for her individual and family clients, Apelis’ practice focuses primarily on traditional wealth and estate planning administration and trust and probate administration and litigation, including drafting wills and trusts, advising on fiduciary obligations, and planning for probate avoidance. Her clients including high net worth individuals and business owners, who she assists not only with estate planning but also tax strategies to minimize estate taxes. Apelis’ experience also includes assisting individuals and families with Elder law and special needs planning issues, including Medicaid application and compliance, long term care planning, and drafting trusts to comply with public benefits requirements.

Prior to joining McDonald Hopkins, Apelis counseled clients at a midsize Cleveland firm and also managed her own solo practice that provided Elder law, estate planning, probate administration and litigation, and small business advisory services.    

Apelis earned her Juris Doctorate from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School. Prior to that, she earned her Bachelor of Arts in psychology (with a minor in sociology and art history) from the University of Massachusetts. Apelis is passionate about women in leadership and serves as the Chair of FDCC Ladder Down Cleveland, which is dedicated to empowering women attorneys to serve in leadership roles.