Nov. 28, 2017
Edward D. Van Alst (BS CHEM EGR ’83) will serve as the new Wexford County Probate Court judge, following his appointment Nov. 27, 2017, by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder.
Van Alst is filling the vacancy created by the resignation of Judge Kenneth Tacoma, who left his position on Oct. 31. Tacoma served as chief judge of probate for Wexford County since 1994 and as presiding judge of the family division of the 28th Circuit Court since 1998.
Van Alst must seek election in November 2018 for a new full term.
Since 2002, Van Alst has been in private practice in Cadillac, focusing on estate planning, Medicaid planning, estate and trust administration, guardianships, conservatorship, real estate, business formation, adoption, divorce and other general matters. He also served many of the Cadillac area’s most vulnerable individuals through Friend of the Court. Van Alst began his career as a chemical engineer in 1985 working at Avon Rubber and Plastics, Inc.
Van Alst received a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Michigan State University in 1983, a master’s degree from General Motors Institute of Technology in 1989, and his law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 2001. He is a member of the Wexford-Missaukee Bar Association and the Probate and Estate Planning Section and the Elder Law and Disability Rights Section of the Michigan Bar.
Van Alst also is the director of the Rotary Club of Cadillac, the Cadillac Area YMCA, the Cadillac Senior Center, and the Cadillac Downtown Fund and involved with many other local organizations.
