With nearly four decades of professional experience, Michael H. Marks is a Pittsburgh-based attorney whose practice focuses on elder law. He currently maintains a practice in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Michael H. Marks is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Inc. (NAELA).
Established in 1987, NAELA is a professional organization for members dedicated to the improvement of the quality of legal services provided to aging individuals and people with special needs. Apart from providing continuing legal education to elder law attorneys, NAELA is also an active advocate for the welfare of the clientele the group serves.
Recently, NAELA released a statement praising the US House of Representatives for passing the Special Needs Trust Fairness and Medicaid Improvement Act (HR 670). The act aims to rectify an error in the law that presupposes that all persons with disabilities are automatically mentally deficient, deeming them incompetent to handle their own affairs and thus requiring those who do not have parents or legal guardians to petition the court to establish a statutory special needs trust. The Act allows an individual to establish his or her own qualifying special needs trust and avoid unnecessary legal fees when there happens to be no parent, grandparent or legal guardian available to help set up the trust.
NAELA specifically praised Representatives Glenn “GT” Thompson (Republican, Pennsylvania) and Frank Pallone (Democrat, New Jersey) for their bipartisan effort to push for the passage of the law. The House voted 382 to 22 in favor of passage.
