Kristine L. Havlik
Of Counsel
Kristine Havlik is driven by helping her clients achieve peace of mind by creating thoughtful and tax-efficient estate plans for her clients that meet their estate planning goals. Kris works directly with individuals and families on complex estate planning, business succession planning, asset protection planning, charitable planning, and estate and trust administration. Clients turn to Kris for her exceptional ability to think outside the box, to explore new ideas, and to make complex tax matters easy to understand.
Kris’ practice is focused on advising clients on wealth transfer techniques and minimization of estate, gift, generation skipping, and income taxes. Her clients regard her as a trusted advisor and rely on her thoughtful advice. Kris also has extensive experience in trust and estate administration and routinely administers estates having a value in excess of twenty million dollars. She has a unique ability to make clients feel at ease when discussing the hard topics.
In addition to estate planning and estate and trust administration. Kris has extensive experience in drafting and negotiating pre-marital agreements as well as fiduciary income tax preparation.
One of Kris’ key accomplishments has been establishing the Wills for Heroes program in Wisconsin, and she has served as a Wills for Heroes coordinator since 2009. Wills for Heroes is a national program designed to provide eligible emergency personnel with free estate planning documents to protect themselves and their families. Under Kris’ leadership, the Wisconsin Wills for Heroes program has completed hundreds of Wills for Heroes clinics and has prepared thousands of estate plans for first responders. For her work with Wills for Heroes, Kris has been featured in many publications and has received numerous awards including the Philanthropic Five Award from the United Way, the Gordon Sinykin Award of Excellence, the Milwaukee Bar Association Pro Bono Publico Award, and the Women Putting Their Stamp on Metro Milwaukee Volunteerism Award from the U.S. Postal Service.
Kris is Of Counsel in the firm’s Estates and Trusts Practice Group and serves as the Estates and Trusts Practice Group training partner. She is also the chair of the firm’s Trust Administration Committee and the Milwaukee office Wills for Heroes Committee. She is also a member of the Milwaukee office Pro Bono Committee and the firm’s Trust Investment Committee. Prior to joining Foley, Kris served as a law clerk to the Honorable Robert D. Martin, chief bankruptcy judge for the Western District of Wisconsin.
Awards and Recognitions
- United Way’s Philanthropic Five
- Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office Community Service Award (2023)
- Women’s Fund of Greater Milwaukee Community Philanthropist Recognition (2018)
- Gordon Sinykin Award of Excellence (2010)
- Milwaukee Bar Association’s Pro Bono Publico Award (2011)
- U.S. Postal Service’s Women Putting Their Stamp on Metro Milwaukee Volunteerism Award (2012)
- Milwaukee Magazine’s Top Five Star Accounting/Estate Planning Professionals in Milwaukee (2014)
- Wisconsin Super Lawyers – Rising Stars (2006-2008, 2011)
Affiliations
- Wisconsin Law Fellow
- Wills for Heroes Coordinator
- Accredited Estate Planner designation from the National Association of Estate Planners and Councils
- Member of the Milwaukee Estate Planning Forum
- Member of the Waukesha County Estate Planning Council
- Member of the Rotary Club of Milwaukee
- Member of the Association for Women Lawyers
- Children’s Hospital and Health System Planning Giving Council Advisor
Presentations and Publications
- Co-author, “Attitude Adjustment,” Trusts & Estates, (April 2005)