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.

• Capital University Law School, Columbus, Ohio (J.D., 1983)
• Capital University, Columbus, Ohio (BA, Political Science, 1979)

• 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

ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP

• National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), Member since 2002NAELA, Georgia Chapter, Chair 2008
• United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, admitted 2007
• National Organization of Veteran Advocates, member
• Life Care Planning Law Firms Association, Member
• State Bar of Georgia, Elder Law Section, Vice Chair 2007-2008
• Atlanta Bar Association, Elder Law Committee, Chair 2004-2005, Vice Chair 2003-2004
• Trust Associates, Inc. – Co-Founder, non-profit organization
• Georgia ElderCare Network – Charter Member
• Academy of Special Needs Planners – Charter Member
• Ageless, Inc. – Executive Board Member, Secretary
• American Parkinson’s Disease Association, Georgia Chapter – Executive Board Member, Secretary
• Georgia Super Lawyers, Rising Star 2005 edition

PUBLICATIONS

• VisPro software for Veterans Benefits Applications, Co-Author
• Thinking of Hiring A Geriatric Care Manager? Integrating Geriatric Care Management into Your Law Practice , Elder Law Advisory, October 2007
• Georgia Nursing Home Guide , 2007 - 2008
• Georgia updates its confusing advance health directives , ElderCare Matters Fall/Winter 2007
• Continuing Care Retirement Communities: What Do We Tell Our Clients? , Elder Law Advisory, October 2006
• Asset exemption may end benefits for some , ElderCare Matters Summer 2005
• Multiple Continuing Education Lectures for NAELA, State and local Bar Associations, and National Business Institute

Linda S. Durston is an attorney in private practice in Berkeley, California. Her practice areas are estate planning, with an emphasis in public benefits and special needs trust planning and administration, and conservatorships and guardianships. Ms. Durston formerly practiced Social Security disability law at a not-for-profit agency in Richmond, California.

Ms. Durston is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, Academy of Special Needs Planners, the Alameda County Bar Association, the Berkeley-Albany Bar Association, and the Contra Costa County Bar Association. She is past secretary of the Northern California Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.

Ms. Durston is a contributing author for the University of California Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB) treatise, California Conservatorship Practice. She is a contributing author and consultant for CEB’s publication, Special Needs Trusts Planning, Drafting and Administration, which received a 2008 award for Outstanding Achievement from the Association for Continuing Legal Education. She coauthored a chapter on public benefits for the AIDS Legal Referral Panel’s AIDS Law Manual, 2004 Fourth Edition. She is principal author with Linda G. Mills of “The Rhetoric, Politics, and Therapeutics of Opening Statements in Social Security Disability Hearings,” Yale Journal on Law and Feminism 8, 1:119-144, 1996. She is a frequent presenter to professional and community organizations on estate, special needs, and pubic benefits planning and administration.

Ms. Durston is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, where she received an undergraduate and graduate degrees in Rhetoric, and where she lectured before entering the legal profession. She received her J.D. from New College of California School of Law in San Francisco.

Patrick J. Hindert is Managing Director of S2KM Limited. S2KM is a Cincinnati-based company that specializes in web 2.0 technologies and strategies for the following industries: structured settlements; personal injury settlement planning; special needs planning; and the secondary life and annuity markets.

Hindert is a member of the Ohio Bar Association; the Cincinnati Bar Association; the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys; and the American Association for Justice. Hindert is a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Michigan Law School. With Joseph Dehner, and Daniel Hindert, Hindert is co-author of "Structured Settlements and Periodic Payment Judgments", a leading legal textbook published by American Lawyer Media. Hindert also authors S2KM’s blog "Beyond Structured Settlements".

Hindert has been a leader within the structured settlement industry since its inception. He founded Benefit Designs, Inc. in 1978 and developed it into a successful United States structured settlement broker before selling the company in 1998. Hindert is a member of the National Structured Settlement Association (NSSTA), where he previously served as President and Director, and the Society of Settlement Planners (SSP), where he previously served as Executive Director.

Mike 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."

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.

Evan J. Krame is the founder of Krame Law Offices. A 1982 graduate of the National Law Center at George Washington University , Evan continued at George Washington to complete a Masters in Taxation in 1985. His practice includes estate planning, guardianships, probate, and tax, as well as serving as trademark counsel for r egistration and licensing matters for a variety of corporate clients. He has a particular interest in guardianships of minors, advising fellow attorneys and parents on their choices in the management and application of assets of disabled children. Evan is also the President of Shared Horizons, the trustee of the only pooled special needs trust serving the District of Columbia and Maryland.

Before entering private practice, Evan held positions at the Department of Commerce, Patent and Trademark Office and at the Internal Revenue Service, Office of the General Counsel.

Evan was an adjunct professor at American University Law School in 1999 teaching Estate Planning. He served as an adjunct professor at Montgomery College , after more than six years. Evan served as co-chair of the Estates, Trusts and Probate Section of the District of Columbia Bar in 1999 and 2000. He is a member of the Washington , D.C. Estate Planning Counsel and on the Advisory Board for Legal Council for the Elderly. He has been an expert witness on probate matters for the Office of Bar Counsel. Articles written by Evan have appeared in the Legal Times and the Gazette Newspapers. He has lectured for a variety of government agencies and nonprofit organizations on Estate Planning.

Evan serves as Treasurer of the American Friends of the Anne Frank House, Evan also serves the community as a member of the Board of the Olney Theater.

Evan is a member of the Bar of the District of Columbia , Maryland , New York , and New Jersey ; he lives in Maryland , with his two children, Zachary and Sarah, and his wife Jodi, who is also an attorney.

Jason D. Lazarus is a settlement planner working exclusively for injury victims nationwide. He is also of counsel to John Staunton, P.A.; a Florida law firm that provides legal services related to public benefit preservation, guardianship, probate and qualified settlement funds.

Jason received his B.A. from the University of Central Florida and his J.D. with high honors from Florida State University. Prior to starting his settlement planning practice and joining John Staunton, P.A., Mr. Lazarus practiced as a Medical Malpractice and Workers' Compensation attorney in Orlando. He has had his written work published by AAJ's Trial Magazine, Florida Justice Association, The Florida Bar Journal, Exceptional Parent, The Employee Advocate, News and 440 Report and The Journal of Transnational Law & Policy. He has presented on the topic of settlement planning for the Florida Justice Association, Florida Workers Advocates, Workers' Compensation Section of the Florida Bar, Mass Torts Made Perfect, Lorman Educational Seminars, Central Florida Trial Lawyers Association and the Palm Beach County Trial Lawyers Association.

He is a member of the Florida Bar, Florida Justice Association (Eagle Member), American Association for Justice, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Academy of Special Needs Planners, Society of Settlement Planners.

David Lillesand is the principal of Lillesand & Associates, P.A., attorneys with offices in North and South Florida, in Gainesville and in Miami, Florida. The firm represents disabled children, adults and their families in Social Security/SSI disability claims, Medicaid, Special Needs Trusts, Guardianship and Estate Planning matters.

David graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1966 with a degree in Political Behavior, and the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1972, and began representing individuals with SSI disability claims in 1974. He has been a Peace Corps Volunteer in Colombia, South America, a domestic volunteer in the VISTA program working with migrant farm-worker families in Laredo, Texas, and spent seven years in Legal Services programs in New Jersey and Florida, including two years as Executive Director of Florida Rural Legal Services.

Since beginning private practice in 1979, he has been a frequent lecturer for state and national Continuing Legal Education programs in the areas of Social Security disability, SSI, special needs trusts, guardianship, and legal and financial planning for disabled children and adults. He received the ARC's Plotkin Outstanding Legal Service Award for service to mentally retarded citizens, is a three-time recipient of the Pro Bono Volunteer of the Year Award from the South-Miami Kendall Bar Association, and received the Florida Bar President's Pro Bono Service Award for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit. He has been President of his two local bar associations, chairman of the South Florida Council on Divorce Mediation, and President of Guardianship and Case Management Services, Inc.

David is trilingual, speaking English, Spanish and POMS. He has been married for 36 years to Dr. Diane V. Lillesand, a recently retired clinical and forensic psychologist and now fulltime Ph.D. graduate student in Tibetan Buddhism at the University of Florida, Gainesville. They have one daughter, Jessica, a graduate of Duke University and a recent graduate of the University of Florida Law School.

Will Lindahl is currently the President of Knights Administration, Inc. a national 3rd party trust administration company that administers trust programs and provides automated case management systems online.

Knights Administration has spent a decade helping attorneys, non-profit organizations and banks establish and manage Individual and Pooled Special Needs Trusts to protect eligibility for Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

In Addition Mr. Lindahl,

• Has his MBA and is a Microsoft Systems Engineer graduate
• Owned and operated a nationwide Medicare/Medicaid fraud auditing company
• Has twelve years experience in healthcare critical care environment
• Has worked as a EMT/Respiratory Therapist on neonatal helicopter flight team
• Has been visually impaired since 2001

Jack Meligan has been involved in the financial services industry since 1979, first as a Financial Analyst and then as a Registered Investment Advisor. From January 1985 to the present, Jack has specialized in the structured settlement marketplace, with special emphasis on comparative analysis of structured annuities vs. alternative investment options. He is the author of several articles regarding structured settlements, including one dealing with the conflict of interest inherent in the current process.

In November of 1995, the National Structured Settlement Trade Association (NSSTA), in conjunction with the University of Notre Dame, conferred upon Mr. Meligan the designation of Certified Structured Settlement Consultant (CSSC), in recognition of his successful completion of more than 60 hours of course study culminating in a comprehensive examination covering such topics as insurance casualty claims practice, state and federal laws pertaining to tort settlements, medical reversionary and special needs trusts, macroeconomics, the art of negotiation and business ethics. Jack is one of only ninety-seven industry professionals from across the country to have earned this designation.

In July 1996, Mr. Meligan was accepted into membership of the American College of Forensic Examiners (ACFE). The ACFE recognizes experience and education of individuals engaged in forensic examinations covering multidisciplinary training in medical, scientific and investigative sciences. The ACFE is comprised of a collective group of professionals actively engaged in the field of forensic examination and consultation.

Jack travels extensively across the U.S., and resides in Lake Oswego, Oregon, with his wife Kathleen and their two daughters.

Tim Nay 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.

Mark Popolizio, J.D. is the Vice President of Customer Relations for NuQuest/Bridge Pointe. Prior to joining NuQuest/Bridge Pointe, Mark practiced law for ten years concentrating in the areas of workers’ compensation defense and insurance defense litigation. Mark developed a national Medicare practice that included Medicare Set-Asides and general compliance with the Medicare Secondary Payer Statute. Mark also served as Medicare counsel for a national TPA. While in private practice, Mark represented numerous carriers, third party administrators and self insured employers. In addition to his workers’ compensation and Medicare practices, Mark served as the Executive Director of the Negotiated Workers’ Compensation Insurance Program (NWCIP) which is an alterative dispute resolution system under the Florida workers' compensation act.

Mark served as Vice President of the National Alliance of Medicare Set-Aside Professionals (NAMSAP) from 2006-2008 and remains active with NAMSAP concentrating on education and legislative matters. He was also a featured instructor on Medicare and Life Care Planning issues with the former University of Florida/Medipro LLC program. Over the past several years, Mark has been a featured presenter at numerous seminars and other industry events across the country. His presentations have included Medicare Basics, Medicare Set-Asides, Medicare Part D (prescription drugs) and Section 111 of the Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act.

Mark grew up in Wallingford, Connecticut. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut with Bachelor of Science degrees in Legal Studies and Sociology. Mark relocated to South Florida in 1992 to attend law school at Nova Southeastern University School of Law in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. While at law school, Mark served as a Judicial Clerk for the Honorable John D. Wessel (15th Judicial Circuit, Palm Beach County, Florida) and was a research assistant for Professor Leslie Larkin Cooney. Mark graduated from Nova in 1995 and is licensed to practice law in Florida and Connecticut. He resides in Miami, Florida.

Richard B Risk Jr. has devoted his law practice to issues relating to structured settlements. He works with attorneys of injury victim claimants to help their clients make wise financial decisions to rehabilitate themselves from their injuries, make adjustments in their life style necessitated by their injury, and refocus their life goals. His services are engaged by plaintiffs’ attorneys and structured settlement producers across the country to administer qualified settlement funds (QSFs), advise on tax issues relating to settlements, and serve as counsel or expert in litigation to secure the rights of injury victims and their fair and ethical treatment. He is considered an authority nationally on structured settlement law.

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.

Kevin Urbatsch exclusively works as a trusts and estates attorney in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has extensive experience in estate planning with a particular specialty in providing for the estate planning needs of persons with disabilities and their families.

Kevin Urbatsch is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law, State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization. He writes and teaches in the area of planning for persons with disabilities and has authored and published treatises, books and articles.

Mr. Urbatsch has been a member of the California Bar since 1993. He received his Law Degree from St. Louis University in 1993 and his undergraduate degree from Truman State University in 1988.

Sylvius H. von Saucken, an estate planning, trust administration, tax and probate attorney, joined the Garretson Firm in 2005. His extensive experience in complex estate planning issues, individual income tax matters and elder law issues, as they relate to recipients of structured settlements and otherwise, compliments and adds depth to the services our firm provides.

Sylvius received his BA in Diplomacy/Foreign Affairs & Political Science from Miami University and his law degree from the Salmon P. Chase College of Law where he continues to serve as an adjunct professor, co-teaching courses in Federal Wealth Transfer Taxation and Estate Planning.

Sylvius has lectured to organizations such as the Cincinnati Bar Association, the National Network of Accountants and the Northern Kentucky Estate Planning Council on topics as diverse as Allocating Capital Gains and Defining Income for Trusts and Estates, Estate Planning, Charitable Transfer Tax Planning, the use of Charitable Trusts as a tax planning tool, and Reforming Charitable Remainder Trusts. Sylvius has also co-lectured on international tax matters in the areas of offshore trust and estate planning and expatriate taxation.

Sylvius heads our estate planning, trust probate and tax practice areas, and serves as in-house counsel for our Medicare Set-Aside, government benefits maximization, and qualified settlement fund administration practice areas.

Sylvius' personal and professional goal is to find creative solutions to our clients' unique situations. His individualized attention to servicing each of our clients provides the conduit for identifying such solutions. Sylvius' personal motto, "we will not sleep well at night until you can", characterizes his approach to client satisfaction.

Diedre 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/).

Michele Whitmore is a graduate of the University of Colorado and the College for Financial Planning. She holds NASD securities series 7, 6, 22, 63 and 65 licenses as well as life, health and variable insurance licenses in multiple states.

Ms. Whitmore has provided financial consulting services to individuals since 1983, litigation planning, special needs and structured settlement expertise to attorneys since 1984, served as the Colorado state director for the Estate Planning for Persons with Disabilities program and is founder and president of Settlement Strategies, Inc . She is a Founding Member and past -President of the Society of Settlement Planners and a member, Founding Member and Director and past Treasurer of the National Alliance of Medicare Set-Aside Professionals.

Ms. Whitmore’s national settlement and disability planning practice is devoted to advising legal professionals and their clients in the negotiations, design and funding of legal settlements to maintain the benefits provided by public and private assistance programs and to promote the proper application and safeguard the tax and financial remedies afforded recipients of tort recoveries.