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H. Clyde Farrell
Attorney at Law*
Certified Financial Planner™

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In our Elder Law practice, we provide a combination of legal and financial services frequently needed by older persons and their families and by persons with disabilities.  Many of our clients face expensive medical needs such as long-term care in a nursing home, Assisted Living Facility or in their own homes. 

We help them and their families conserve their assets as much as possible, consistent with obtaining the best possible care in the most desirable environment. This may involve, for example, the following:

ASSISTANCE WITH MEDICAID BENEFITS: When Medicaid is the best solution, we help clients qualify.  This may involve developing strategies for protecting the spouse at home, protecting the residence, and keeping other assets in the family, while seeking the highest quality of care.  Both our Legal Assistants, Margaret N. Bryant and Denise C. Littleton, are former Medicaid Eligibility Specialists with the Texas Medicaid Program.  They help our clients process Medicaid applications with a minimum of delay and worry.

OTHER PLANNING FOR LONG-TERM CARE: For clients with time to plan, the first step is financial planning, utilizing computer-generated projections of income and expenses to decide whether planning for Medicaid or long-term care insurance is even needed.  If long-term care insurance appears advisable, we help design a policy to meet the client's particular needs.

WILLS, TRUSTS AND POWERS OF ATTORNEY: We draft traditional wills, trusts and powers of attorney, tailoring them to the client's particular needs such as Medicaid planning, tax reduction planning, providing for minor children, and planning for family members with disabilities. 

PROBATE, GUARDIANSHIP AND ALTERNATIVES: When the need arises, we assist with probate, alternatives to probate, trust and estate administration, guardianships and alternatives to guardianship. We look for the simplest alternative that will provide security and peace of mind to our client and his or her family.

SPECIAL NEEDS TRUSTS AND PLANNING: We assist with establishment and administration of trusts designed to allow beneficiaries to qualify for public benefits such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income, while providing assistance for "special needs" not provided by those programs.  Such trusts may be used, for example, to protect cash and other assets received in personal injury settlements or by inheritance.  We also advise individuals and trustees as to what public benefits may be available for persons with disabilities and how to establish and maintain eligibility.

 H. Clyde Farrell is certified as an Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation and is a Certified Financial Planner. Before he started his own Elder Law practice in 1993, he served for ten years as an Assistant Attorney General, during which time he represented the Texas Department of Human Services and other agencies in lawsuits to protect residents of nursing homes and victims of deceptive trade practices.  He became Chief of the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division and later established an Elder Law Section, serving as its first Chief. 

He is a founding director and past President of the Texas Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and past President of Family Eldercare in Austin.  He began his legal career as a staff attorney for five years with Texas Rural Legal Aid.  He received his B.A. and J.D. (in 1975) from the University of Texas at Austin and his M.A. in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin.  Mr. Farrell is the author of Financing Long-Term Care in Texas, Public Benefits for Texans With Disabilities, and numerous professional articles on Elder Law and the rights of persons with disabilities. Texas Monthly has named him a "Texas Super Lawyer" four years in a row (so far).

 Marilyn G. Miller, Of Counsel, is certified as an Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation and is certified as a specialist in Consumer Bankruptcy by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.  She has her own practice in Dripping Springs, Texas, in addition to working with Mr. Farrell's office in Austin.  She is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and is a founding Director a current Vice-President of the Texas Chapter of NAELA.  She received her J. D. degree from the University of Kansas and her LL.M. in Taxation from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.  She is the author of Building Blocks of an Elder Law Practice, course materials for the State Bar of Texas Elder Law Institute (1999), and numerous other professional publications.

 Susanna Bond, Of Counsel, is certified as a specialist in Estate Planning and Probate by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.  She has had her own practice in Elder Law and Estate Planning since 1996.  Previously, she served as a staff attorney with the Legal Hotline for Older Texans, as counsel to the Texas Senate Education Committee, and as a staff attorney for the General Counsel, Texas Public Utility Commission. She is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the College of the State Bar of Texas, Travis County Women's Bar Association, and Travis County Bar Association's Estate Planning and Probate Section, and is a Volunteer Attorney with Volunteer Legal Services.  She received her B.A. in English Literature with Honors from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, her First Class Certificate in Modern English Law from the London School of Economics, and her J.D. (in 1978) from the University of Texas School of Law.  Ms. Bond is the author of What to Do With the House: Planning for the Homestead for the Elderly Client, presented at the University of Texas School of Law Elder Law Conference (1998).

Let us assist you with your personal needs. Please contact us today at (512)  or complete our Request for Information form below.

H. Clyde Farrell
Attorney at Law*
Certified Financial Planner™

1411 West Avenue, Suite 100 
Austin, TX  78701

Marilyn G. Miller,  Of Counsel
Certified as an Elder Law Attorney 
By the National Elder Law Foundation n