About
The purpose of the Academy of Special Needs Planners is to assist special needs attorneys in providing the highest quality service and advice to individuals with special needs and to their families. In addition to providing its member attorneys with up-to-date information on legal developments nationwide and a forum for exchanging best practices, the Academy provides information to consumers through this web site and its monthly e-mail newsletter.
On this site, we aim to provide the best information available on the Internet on planning for people with special needs as well as access to a network of attorneys focusing their practices on special needs planning.
Our information is designed to be thorough, up-to-date and easy to understand. The attorneys in our network have demonstrated a commitment to assisting those with special needs and their families. And they benefit from the experience and expertise of their peers through our Internet-based practice tools.
| Management Team |
Harry Margolis, Vincent Russo, Diedre Wachbrit, Ken Coughlin, Mark Miller |
| Advisory Board Members |
A Frank Johns, Ira Wiesner, Michael Gilfix, Patricia Dudek, Tim Nay, William J. Browning |
Management Team
Harry S. Margolis, co-founder. An elder law attorney since 1987, Mr. Margolis is also the founder and president of ElderLawAnswers and the founder and managing attorney of Margolis & Associates, a law firm specializing in elder law based in Boston, Massachusetts. He is the editor of The ElderLaw Report and The ElderLaw Portfolio Series and author of the ElderLaw Forms Manual. Mr. Margolis is a fellow of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and has been a member of the adjunct faculty of Boston College Law School.
Vincent J. Russo, co-founder. Mr. Russo is the managing shareholder of the law firm of Vincent J. Russo & Associates, P.C., of Westbury, Islandia, Lido Beach, Woodbury and Smithtown, New York. Mr. Russo is a certified elder law attorney (CELA) by the National Elder Law Foundation and is a Founding Member, Fellow, and Past President of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA). He is also co-founder of the Theresa Alessandra Russo Foundation which assists children with special needs.
Diedre Dennis Wachbrit is a graduate of Stanford Law School where she was Chair of the Stanford Journal of Law, Business & Finance, she is also a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of University of California, Irvine magna cum laude. She has been Certified by the California Board of Legal Specialization in Estate Planning, Trust, and Probate Law. Prior to opening her law practice, Diedre was a Senior Associate at the international consulting firm, McKinsey & Company, where she provided strategic business advice to some of the nation's largest and best-known firms.
Diedre serves on the Board as a Director of PAUSE 4 Kids, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping kids with special needs to grow. She is a member of the Advisory Board, The Computer Access Center, Los Angeles, California. Diedre is a co-author of the Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB)'s forthcoming book on Special Needs Planning.
Diedre teaches continuing education courses for Wealth Counsel, Lorman, PESI and the National Business Instutute, national providers of legal education. She is also a teaching fellow at the Southern California Institute and has provided educational workshops and seminars for Amgen, La Leche League International, and Mothers & More.
Diedre also authors two blogs, one on estate planning, asset protection and taxes (http://wachbrit.typepad.com/); the other on special needs planning (http://wachbrit.typepad.com/special_needs_planning/).
Ken Coughlin, editorial director. Mr. Coughlin brings 29 years of publishing experience to the Academy of Special Needs Planners . He is editorial director of the Web site ElderLawAnswers and has been the Managing Editor of The ElderLaw Report since 1992. Before joining the Academy of Special Needs Planners, Mr. Coughlin was Editorial Director of Faulkner & Gray's Healthcare Information Center, a publishing unit of Thomson Financial, where his responsibilities included the production of several CD-ROM publications.
Mark Miller, director of operations and business development. Mr. Miller's responsibilities include managing member recruitment and retention, marketing, product development and customer service. Mr. Miller brings more than 15 years of experience in sales and business development for web-based service providers. Past projects have included consulting for McDonald Investments (division of KeyCorp.), Director of Technology Partnership for Food.com and executing web development or licensing agreements with companies such as Noggin (Viacom), FoxFamily, The Discovery Channel and LEGO.
Advisory Board Members
A Frank Johns:
A. Frank Johns, JD, CELA, RG, is a nationally recognized legal authority in Elder Law, Guardianship, Disability Rights, Special Needs Trusts and Legal Ethics. Mr. Johns, BS ’68 and JD ‘71 Florida State University, is a charter partner in Booth Harrington & Johns, LLP with offices in Charlotte and Greensboro, North Carolina. He is past President of and a Fellow in the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and currently sits as chair of NAELA’s Council of Advanced Practitioners. He is Board Certified in Elder Law by the National Elder Law Foundation and a Registered Guardian. He was a charter Board member of the National Guardianship Association, and is also a fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC); charter chair of the North Carolina Bar Association Elder Law Section; and charter associate of the Society of Settlement Planners. He created and co-chaired Wingspan - the Second National Guardianship Conference (2001). He is a frequent speaker on Guardianship, Elder Law, Special Needs Trusts and legal ethics, presenting on local, state and national levels, including four annual lectures at the NYU Tax Institute, and at the Duke University Estate Planning Conference. He is a well-published author, most recently co-author of the second edition of Counseling Older Clients (ALI/ABA 2005). He has also written numerous law review articles, articles for national legal publications, including Trial Magazine and Trust&Estates; he is past editor of the NAELA Quarterly and currently on the NAELA Journal Editorial Board. He currently serves on the Boards of the Western Carolina Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association (current sitting president), Senior Resources of Guilford, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Seniors Centers, Tristan’s Quest – Advocacy for Children with Mental Illness and the Corporation of Guardianship, Inc. Mr. Johns has recently been named Chair of the Advisory Committee of the New Masters of Gerontology/MBA Dual Degree Program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where he is a visiting associate professor.
Ira Wiesner:
Mr. Wiesner is a nationally recognized elder law attorney. He is
a former President of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Having a legal
practice rooted in 17 years of traditional estate and tax planning, Mr. Wiesner, who
is Florida Bar Board Certified in Taxation and Elder Law, devotes a significant
portion of his practice to sophisticated estate planning. However, the principal
commitment and focus of his practice is on resolving the legal needs of the elderly
and their families.
He is one of a select group of attorneys nationwide who has been
honored as a Fellow of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys in recognition of
his work in advancing the legal needs of seniors. His involvement ranges from
counseling on planning for incapacity, asset preservation and guardianship, to
redressing abuse, exploitation and resident's rights issues.
Mr. Wiesner was an invitee to the 1995 White House Conference on
Aging and has consulted with the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative
Services and the Agency for health care Administration on legislative matters. In
addition to devoting a significant portion of his law practice to the legal needs of
the elderly, Mr. Wiesner assists families with planning for the needs and protection
of disabled and dysfunctional children.
Michael Gilfix:
Michael Gilfix is a nationally known authority in the field of law, aging and estate
planning. A 1973 graduate of Stanford Law School, he is a Fellow of the National
Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), a co-founder of NAELA, and a Certified Legal
Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law. Mr. Gilfix regularly addresses
professional audiences, including attorneys, physicians, certified public
accountants, and financial planners, nationally as well as locally.
An entrepreneur in the legal field, Mr. Gilfix created the first legal aid program
for elders in 1973. He served as Executive Director of that program, Senior Adults
Legal Assistance (SALA) of Santa Clara County, for ten years. In 1983 he created the
law firm that is today known as Gilfix & La Poll Associates LLP .
Mr. Gilfix is a California legal advisor to Partnership For Caring, the national
organization devoted to rights of individuals to make their own health care
decisions.
Mr. Gilfix holds an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, as judged by his peers in the
legal profession. This rating, the highest given "... reflects an attorney who has
reached the heights of professional excellence, ... has practiced law for many years,
and is recognized for the highest levels of skill and integrity."
Patricia Dudek:
Patricia E. Kefalas Dudek concentrates her practice in the area of estate planning with particular emphasis on planning for people with disabilities, elders and their families. Her practice includes advising and preparing estate planning documents, including special needs trusts; representation in Medicaid hearings to secure appropriate services, administration of estates, trusts, guardianship, conservatorship, and other protective arrangements, and contested litigation in these areas.
Ms. Dudek, a 1992 graduate of the Detroit College of Law, is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the Oakland County Bar Association and Past Chair of the Elder Law and Advocacy Section of the State Bar. As an advocate for persons with disabilities she is an active member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and Past Chair of the Trust Special Interest Group. Additionally she volunteers as a member of the Board of Directors of United Cerebral Palsy Association of Metropolitan Detroit, and as Chair of the Governmental Relations Committee often provides written and oral testimony on legal and public policy issues pertaining to her clientele.
A prolific Writer and Lecturer on topics related to Medicaid, guardianship and estate planning for people with disabilities, and their right to control their support services. Ms. Dudek was the author of the model contracts for Michigan’s Self Determination Initiative. This facilitates control over Medicaid service budgets, and allows for creative solutions for housing and supports. Another creative solution used by Ms. Dudek on behalf of her clients is the use of a Pooled Accounts Trust for Medicaid planning. She was the first attorney in Michigan to draft one of these trusts and to secure approval for Medicaid by both the Social Security Administration and the State of Michigan. Ms. Dudek advises on the administration of special need trusts in creating public/private solutions for the support service and housing needs of elders and people with disabilities.
Tim Nay:
Tim has combined decades of clinical social work experience and legal expertise to develop an
insightful, innovative and people-friendly approach to assisting our clients. He is the founding
President of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and was recognized in 1992 as a Fellow
of the Academy.
Tim is a past President of the Oregon Gerontological Association, past Chair and founding member of the Elder Law Section of the Oregon State Bar and the immediate past President of the Oregon Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. He is Chair, Amicus Brief Committee-National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (2003-2004) and also a member of the Medicaid Task Force-National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (2003-present). He is a founding member and current secretary of the National Alliance of Medicare Set Aside Professionals. Tim is a member of the Oregon State and Washington State Bar Associations.
William J. Browning:
William J. Browning is a partner of Browning & Meyer Co., LPA, in Columbus, Ohio
and a Past-President of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.
A Certified Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation
- Focuses practice on elder law, probate, customized estate planning, including special needs trusts and plans and asset protection planning.
- Served on the boards of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), the Arthritis Foundation of Central Ohio, and the Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging. Immediate Past-President of NAELA
- Frequent speaker in the estate planning and probate related fields for the Columbus and Ohio State Bar Associations, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Professional Education Systems, Inc. and numerous civic groups
- Martindale-Hubbell Rating of AV, which indicates very high to pre-eminent legal ability and very high ethical standards as established by confidential opinions from members of the Bar.
Education
- Capital University Law School, Columbus, Ohio (J.D., 1983)
- Capital University, Columbus, Ohio (BA, Political Science, 1979)
Courts & Bar Associations
- U.S. Supreme Court (2001)
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit (1996)
- U.S. Tax Court (1985)
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio (1984)
- Ohio Bar (1983)
- Supreme Court of Ohio (1983)
- Member: Columbus & Ohio State Bar Association
Disclaimer
The Academy of Special Needs Planners provides legal information, not legal advice. Our information explains general legal concepts and principles that may or may not be applicable to a particular person's situation. The Academy of Special Needs Planners is not a law firm, does not give legal advice and no attorney-client relationship exists between the site and any user.
The Academy of Special Needs Planners makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to this site. Because legal advice must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each client case, and laws are constantly changing, nothing should be used as a substitute for the advice of competent counsel.
If you require legal advice, we encourage you to retain an attorney from our directory and to develop an attorney-client relationship with that attorney or firm.
