|
|
Attorneys and Professional Staff
ROGER M. BERNSTEIN, Esq. is a principal in The Bernstein Law Office, P.A., and practices in the areas of planning for personal injury settlements, and for aging, illness and incapacity. A substantial part of that practice consists of trust planning for tort settlements and for disabled clients of all ages.
Mr. Bernstein is a graduate of Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut (B.A.,1965), New York University School of Law (J.D.,1968), and New York University Graduate School of Law (LL.M. in Taxation, 1972). He has served on the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys Nominating Committee. He is a member of the Florida Bar Tax Section and the Real Property Probate and Trust Law Section, and he is a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. He is a Florida representative of the Special Needs Alliance, a select network of Special Needs Trust attorneys, www.specialneedsalliance.org. He is an Associate Member of the National Structured Settlements Trade Association (NSSTA), www.nssta.com.
Mr. Bernstein is a frequent lecturer on subjects relating to planning for aging, illness and incapacity. He has spoken before the National Structured Settlements Trade Association on the subject of "Special Trusts for Special Needs," and at the NSSTA Regional Meeting (2009). He has lectured at the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys on "How to Settle Personal Injury Cases for Plaintiffs on Medicaid" (Symposium 6, 1994), and again before the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys Advanced Elder Law Institute on "Special Needs Trusts: Drafting and Administration" (1997), in a NAELA Seminar panel on "Launching into Probate, Estate and Trust Administration" (1998).
Mr. Bernstein has also lectured at the following Stetson University College of Law presentations: "Maximizing Settlement Values" (1999), "Special Needs Trusts" (1999), "Special Needs Trusts: Another Look" (2000), "Special Needs Trusts III" (2001), "Special Needs Trust IV" (2002), "Special Needs Trusts V" (2003), "Special Needs Trust VI"(2004), "Special Needs Trust VII" (2005), "Special Needs Trust IX" (2007).
Mr. Bernstein’s article entitled "What to Pay Before Funding the Special Needs Trust" was published in the Exceptional Parent magazine in 2008.
Mr. Bernstein has been qualified and has testified as an expert witness in the use of public benefits, such as Medicaid, to reduce the economic costs of plaintiff's future medical care.
The firm is listed as a Special Needs Trust provider in Best's Directories of Recommended Insurance Attorneys and Adjusters, www.ambest.com/experts.
MARGRIT S. BERNSTEIN, Esq. is a principal in The Bernstein Law Office, P.A., and practices in the areas of planning for personal injury settlements, and for aging, illness and incapacity. A substantial part of that practice consists of trust planning for tort settlements and for disabled clients of all ages.
Ms. Bernstein is a graduate of Barnard College (B.A., 1966) and Columbia Law School (J.D., 1969). She is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), www.naela.com, and the Florida Bar Elder Law Section, where she has co-chaired the Special Needs Trusts Committee. She lectures on subjects relating to law and aging, Special Needs Trusts, and related ethical issues. In 1994, Ms. Bernstein represented NAELA at a joint conference at Fordham Law School, "Conference on Ethical Issues in Representing Older Clients." Her article, "Ethical Issues: Settling Injury Cases for Persons on Public Benefits Using Special Needs Trusts," appeared in the NAELA Quaterly, Winter 2000. She has participated as a faculty member in CLE programs at Stetson University College of Law, including "Maximizing Settlement Values: Understanding Liens, Collateral Sources and Special Needs Trusts" (1999); "Special Needs Trusts" (2000); "Special Needs Trusts: Another Look" (2002); and "Special Needs Trusts IV" (2004).
Ms. Bernstein has served as a director of the Alzheimers Association of Greater Miami, and as a member of the Advisory Council for the Alliance for Aging. She has served as faculty for the Practising Law Institute, the Joint Conference on Law and Aging, the Center on Aging at Florida International University, the American Institute of Financial Planners, and the Institute for Retired Professionals of the University of Miami.
|
|
|
BARBARA S. O'CONNELL is a Florida Registered Paralegal. She is a graduate of the University of Miami Paralegal Program, and is a member of the South Florida Paralegal Association. She has been with this firm since its inception.
VANIA E. SALGAR has been our Administrative Assistant since 2003.
|
|
|
|
|
|