STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (Sept. 14, 2018) – When it comes to elder law advice, there’s plenty of misinformation. As the president of the National Elder Law Foundation, Amos Goodall has made it his mission to get the public thinking about what comes next.
In August, Goodall recently appeared on “Parents Are Hard to Raise,” an international podcast that features thought leaders in the elder care community, to talk about what the average Joe needs to know about elder law attorneys.
“Well I usually say that if you’re old, if you think you may get old someday, or if you know someone who is old, you should at least think about an elder law attorney,” Goodall said during the interview.
“We talk about we do estate planning. We do capacity planning. We do fiduciary rights. One of the things we’re best known for is a public benefits advice. And we do all these same things for families with children with special needs.”
Goodall knows a thing or two about elder law. He’s been practicing in State College, Pennsylvania, since 1976 and has been recognized by Philadelphia Magazine as a Super Lawyer in elder law every year since the category was created.
Since assuming the presidency of the National Elder Law Foundation in June, Goodall has been on a campaign to inform the public about all the problems Certified Elder Law Attorneys (CELAs) can solve.
“If you want to say what’s going to happen to your things after you die, you need to do an estate plan. And there’s so many different wrinkles that an attorney can help with,” Goodall said.
“For example, do you have a child who has special needs? If you don’t have a will and the property all goes to the child, will that impair their ability to receive benefits? Well, you know, that’s why you need to talk to a certified elder law attorney.”
“There may be good lawyers who do not have the elder law certification (CELA),” Goodall said. “But the gold standard is this elder law certification.”
Source: NELF