We provide comprehensive elder law, estate planning, guardianship, special needs planning, Medicaid
planning and applications, and probate services.
Keywords
Estate Planning,
Trust,
Will,
Power of Attorney,
Probate,
Guardianship,
Long Term Planning,
Dementia Planning,
Elder Law,
Medicaid,
Special Needs Planning.
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offices in Arlington Heights, Chicago, Libertyville, Naperville, and Skokie, Illinois. Appointments are also available via phone or video conferencing.
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Katie is one of only a few Certified Elder Law Attorneys in Illinois. She has practiced exclusively in elder law since 2004. Her practice focuses on long term care planning, estate planning, special needs planning, Medicaid planning and applications, and probate and trust administration. She devotes a substantial portion of her time to helping families plan for the care of a loved one with a chronic care need. Katie represents her clients with a continuity of care that extends from the creation of a long-term care plan through the execution, implementation, and administration of that plan.
Since 2016, Katie has been named by the Leading Lawyers Network as one of the “Top 10 Elder Law Attorneys in Illinois” and a “Top Leading Women Lawyer." She has been named a “Top Elder Lawyer” by Chicago Lawyer and was recently selected by her peers as a “Super Lawyer.” Katie is a frequent speaker with the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education on topics including estate and Medicaid planning with retirement benefits, and estate and Medicaid planning for married couples. Katie has also co-authored “Chapter 4 - Drafting Self-Settled OBRA Trusts” for the 2020 Edition of IICLE’s “Special Needs Trusts” publication.
Katie has been licensed to practice law since 2001. Prior to joining Dutton Casey & Mesoloras in 2005, she practiced with the Cook County Public Guardian where she represented the Public Guardian in disabled adult guardianship estates and where she served as the Guardian ad Litem (GAL) for abused and neglected minors in child protection proceedings. With the Public Guardian, Katie gained a wealth of experience representing clients with sensitive legal problems, administering complex estates, navigating challenging care issues, and litigating difficult cases of abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation.
Katie is a dedicated bike commuter and enjoys riding 20 miles roundtrip to her office. She also enjoys gardening on the weekends. Katie and her husband, a professor of philosophy at a local state university, reside in Chicago.
Helen is one of only a few Certified Elder Law Attorneys in Illinois. She has been licensed to practice law since 2004 and joined Dutton Casey & Mesoloras in 2012. She has been working in the field of elder law her entire career, with a focus on long-term care planning guardianships, probate and trust administrations, and estate planning. Helen represents clients in routine guardianship and probate matters, as well as more complex Medicaid and special needs planning cases. She has co-authored several chapters in Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education publications, chapters in Illinois Jurisprudence (Lexis-Nexis) covering Medicaid planning and basic estate planning, and is a frequently requested presenter for attorney, consumer, and healthcare professionals’ groups.
Helen was the 2017 President of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys Illinois Chapter and was selected as the Outstanding Member of the Year in April 2018. She enjoys cooking and arts and crafts projects.
Janna has been practicing in the area of elder law for more than 40 years. As a result, Janna has the knowledge and depth of experience to skillfully navigate through a diverse range of legal matters, including guardianship and financial exploitation matters, trusts and estate planning, Medicaid planning and applications and probate and estate administration.
She is a Certified Elder Law Attorney and has held this certification since 1995. In addition, Janna as been named, since 2011, as one of the Top 10 Elder Law Attorneys in Illinois.
Melissa is one of only a few Certified Elder Law Attorneys in Illinois. She concentrates her practice in elder law, which includes Medicaid planning and applications, adult guardianship estates, trust and estate administration, and estate planning. Melissa also serves as a court appointed Guardian ad Litem (GAL) and counsel for Respondents in guardianship estates. She frequently presents to attorney, consumer, and healthcare professional groups on a variety of elder law topics.
Melissa has been named as an “Emerging Lawyer” in the field of Elder Law by the Leading Lawyers Network each year since 2018. Less than 2% of all lawyers licensed in each state have receive the distinction of Emerging Lawyer. Melissa has also been named as an Illinois Super Lawyers “Rising Star” in the field of Elder Law each year since 2018. The Rising Stars list recognizes no more than 2.5% of attorneys in each state.
Melissa is a current board member of the Illinois Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and President elect of the Veterans' Legal Aid Society. She is a past chair of the Chicago Bar Association's Elder Law Committee. Melissa is also a member of M-Team, a volunteer multidisciplinary team focusing on combating abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation of vulnerable adults on the north side of Chicago.
In her free time, Melissa enjoys traveling, playing and watching sports, hiking, and spending time at her family’s camp in Upper Michigan. Melissa resides in Chicago with her husband, Dan, and their 4 cats - Izzy, Bitsy, Iris, and Leo.
Amy is an Elder Law litigation attorney with 11 years of relevant experience. Her practice primarily focuses on highly contested adult guardianships, guardianships for minors, probate estates and financial exploitation matters. Additionally, she practices in uncontested adult and minor guardianships, probate and trust administration and adult protective services matters. Amy serves as court-appointed Guardian ad litem (GAL) and Respondent’s counsel in guardianships. Amy guides her clients through their legal matters with both competency and compassion.
Amy has been named as an “Emerging Lawyer” in the fields of Elder Law and Trust, Will and Estate Planning by the Leading Lawyers Network since 2021. Less than 2% of all lawyers licensed in each state have receive the distinction of Emerging Lawyer. Amy has also been named as an Illinois Super Lawyers “Rising Star” in the fields of Estate and Trust Litigation, Estate Planning and Probate and Elder Law since 2021. The Rising Stars list recognizes no more than 2.5% of attorneys in each state.
Amy has presented on the topics of Financial Exploitation Litigation and GAL and Respondent’s Counsel Advocacy in Guardianships to her peers at the Chicago Bar Association in the Probate and Elder Law committees. She is an active member of the Illinois chapter of National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and serves on the Litigation and Education committees.
Amy is a home cook who enjoys creating elaborate meals for her friends and family. She is a lover of art and nature and can be found on the weekends riding her bike in the forest preserves or visiting Chicago museums.
Samantha concentrates her practice in elder law, including Medicaid planning, Medicaid applications, and guardianship estates.
When not practicing law, Samantha enjoys traveling, exercising, figure skating and spending time with her friends and family, including her adorable dog, Bailey.
Samantha has been licensed to practice law since 2018 and has been with our firm since March 2019. She concentrates her practice in elder law, including Medicaid planning and applications, and guardianship estates.
Caitlin concentrates her practice on adult guardianship estates, Medicaid planning, Medicaid applications, and trust and estate administration.
In her free time, Caitlin enjoys trying new restaurants in Chicago with her partner, Mike, collecting vinyl records, and spending time with her golden retriever, Zoey.
Caitlin has been licensed to practice law in Illinois since 2018. Prior to joining Dutton Casey & Mesoloras, P.C., she clerked for a state circuit court judge in the General Chancery Division of the Cook County Circuit Court. During and after law school, Caitlin also volunteered for legal aid organizations, where she acquired experience in estate planning and long-term care planning.
Monica has been a leader and advocate for those in need for over 15 years. Her interest in working with older adults started as a child, when she would volunteer with her Papou (Grandpa in Greek) at the nursing home where her grandma resided.
Monica earned her Bachelor's of Arts in Psychology and Bachelor’s of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Monica also earned a Multicultural Certificate for her diversified course of studies. Monica is currently pursuing a Master’s in Social Work through the University of Illinois at Chicago and plans to specialize in mental health.
In her free time, Monica enjoys taking her dog on walks and listening to true crime podcasts. She also enjoys visiting with friends and family, especially her two-year old nephew.
Estate planning is for everyone, but not every estate plan is the same. A good estate plan should consider both the inevitability of death and the possibility of disability, and should make the subsequent management of your financial and personal affairs easy for your loved ones. It should ease your concerns about what happens to your property upon your death and ensure that your wishes are followed. As estate planning attorneys, we assist by considering and addressing the technical aspects of your situation while explaining and utilizing documents that make sense for you.
Advanced planning can make a significant difference for a loved one with special needs. Proper special needs planning can allow your loved one to maintain their eligibility for critical public benefits and government programs, while ensuring a safety net for their supplemental needs. Every public benefit and government program available to a person with special needs has its own set of rules. It is important that every special needs plan considers those rules while using the planning tool that makes the most sense. We assist by considering your goals for the care of your loved one, reviewing the financial circumstances of you and your loved one, and creating a plan to meet your loved one’s current and future needs.
Long-term care (LTC) is a range of services and supports you may need to meet your health or personal needs over a long period of time. LTC planning involves deciding on a plan for what you want when you are no longer able to make decisions for yourself and at the end of your life. Starting the process of LTC planning before you need it allows you to learn about the services available for LTC given your financial circumstances, detail your end-of-life wishes, complete the necessary legal documents, and appoint decision-makers. Between our attorneys and client care coordinator, we assist with all aspects of an LTC plan so its there when you need it.
Many people who have been assigned the duty of administering an estate and/or trust are still grieving the loss of their loved one, yet have the additional stress of wondering – what do I do now? There are a variety of ways a loved one’s post-death affairs may need be handled, depending on their financial circumstances and estate plan. We assist by reviewing your loved one’s circumstances at their death and helping you with all aspects of administration, whether it be a small estate affidavit, court involved probate estate, or trust administration. We also assist when you are not administering, but rather receiving funds from an estate and/or trust, so that you can feel confident you are being treated fairly and as your deceased loved one intended.
Guardianship is a legal process where a disabled person receives a court appointed guardian to manage her financial and legal affairs. Guardianship is often inevitable where a disabled person has lost the ability to manage their own affairs and does not have a power of attorney to manage their affairs for them. Guardianship is also an effective option for a disabled person who is being taken advantage of by an unscrupulous power of attorney, caregiver, or family member. Since the court continues to monitor the guardians it appoints, guardianship is a good way to protect the disabled persons’ personal care and finances.
Litigation occurs when parties take legal action in a court to resolve a dispute. Although one of the goals of estate and trust planning is to avoid court involvement and disputes between parties, the documents themselves or the actions of the parties can result in litigation. The types of litigation around an estate or trust can be very broad, from a will contest to improper actions of a trustee to unclear terms of a will or trust. These cases are complex and difficult to manage on your own. We assist by guiding you through the legal implications and available remedies depending on your situation, while taking the necessary action to achieve your desired outcome.
Litigation for Vulnerable Adults Against Abuse, Neglect, and Financial Exploitation
Instances of abuse, neglect and financial exploitation, including undue influence, of older adults and people who have a disability have increased dramatically. These issues are complex and difficult to manage while still ensuring the protection of a loved one’s personal and financial affairs. There are a broad range of legal remedies available under Illinois law to address abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation. We assist with navigating and pursuing these remedies to stop current abuse, remedy past exploitation, and protect your loved one from future harm.
Elder law covers all aspects of planning, counseling, education, and advocating for all of our clients in the greater Chicago, Illinois area. Elder law attorneys are a resource to their clients because they understand their clients’ needs may extend beyond basic legal services and stay informed about and connected to the local networks of professionals who serve the same populations. Elder law encompasses all aspects of planning for aging, illness, and incapacity. The specialization requires a practitioner to be particularly sensitive to the legal issues impacting older clients or people who have a disability.
Elder law attorneys bring more to their practice than an expertise in the appropriate area of law. They also have knowledge of the senior population and their unique needs as well as the myths related to competence and aging. They are aware of the physical and mental difficulties that often accompany the aging process. Because of their broad knowledge base they are able to more thoroughly address the legal needs of their clients.
For example, when planning an estate, an elder law attorney would take into consideration the health of the person or couple, the potential for nursing home care and the wishes and concerns of the person or couple if that event were to occur.
Health care costs are the number one reason people file for bankruptcy. The cost of caring for an aging or disabled loved one can leave family members searching for answers in navigating the changing and complex rules for Medicaid assistance in Illinois. Planning for future and current Medicaid eligibility can protect assets and minimize the cost of long-term care. Even with the implementation of a Medicaid plan, the Medicaid application process itself is complicated. Proper review and organization of the application as well as routine communications with the Medicaid offices are essential to obtaining an approval. We assist with Medicaid planning and applications so that you have help through all steps of the process.
We understand that planning for the today, as well as the future, can be difficult and confusing. To meet these needs, our firm offers Care Navigation and Advocacy…a service that is designed to help with decision making and establish, and maintain, quality care.
Our Care Coordinator, Monica DiOrio. supports both our clients and attorneys by providing comprehensive assessments, family caregiver advocacy and education, and the resource information needed for the client and family to understand and make decisions.
Senior Housing Contracts, Admissions and Discharges
A move to senior housing may be a welcome change that comes with plenty of time to review options and plan for, or maybe made in a time of crisis, such as when a loved one must be transferred from a hospital into a nursing home for rehabilitation and possible long-term care.
Do you know you and your family’s priorities for housing? Have you figured out how you will finance nursing home care? There are many issues to think about in order to ensure the best fit for you and your family. The attorneys and client care coordinator at Dutton Casey & Mesoloras can guide you through the process of selecting the housing, financing nursing home care, reviewing contracts for a the many types of senior housing, residents’ rights, and a variety of other long-term housing care issues.
We can can guide you through the process of selecting a nursing home, financing nursing home care, nursing home admissions, reviewing contracts for a variety of types of senior housing, residents’ rights, and a variety of other long-term care issues.
Guardianship of a minor is a legal process where a court appoints a guardian for a child under the age of 18 to make decisions on their behalf and/or manage their financial affairs. A minor needs a guardian of the person when the minor has no living parents, when the parents cannot be found, or when the parents are unable or unwilling to care for the minor. A minor needs a guardian of the estate when he or she has, or is about to receive, significant money or property. We assist with all aspects of guardianship for a minor, from deciding whether guardianship is necessary to the court appointment process to ongoing representation of a guardian.