Membership Meeting & Election Results

Our next membership meeting will be our annual meeting. Election results for the 2025 IL NAELA Officers and Board of Directors will be announced. Please mark your calendar.  Ballots will be sent separately via Election Runner in mid-December. The ballot will close on January 7th at 12:00 pm. Melissa Johnson, our current president elect, will be the 2025 IL NAELA president. Paige Fox will serve as our immediate past president. You will receive a link to the Zoom meeting in your confirmation email. 

Mark your calendars - We hope you can join us!

Long Term Care Insurance: Reading the Contract and Avoiding Denials

Stana Martin, PhD

Approved for 1 general CLE credit

As Baby Boomers age, there has been an increase in the number of long term care policies that come thru an attorney’s office for review. This session will review the main parts of a long term care contract and the key benefit features clients and attorneys will want to know as they consider making a claim. The session will also go over the document-intensive claim process and the most common pitfalls that cause a claim denial. We will cover best strategies and resources for families who are managing a claim. With this information, attorneys should be armed to better advise their clients about how to use this valuable resource.

Stana Martin, PhD 

Dr. Martin earned her PhD from University of Texas at Austin in Communication Studies. She is one of the Midwest’s foremost experts in long term care insurance. She has 20 years of experience selling this product, frequently ranking as one of the top sales professionals in the nation.

In 2012, she founded Mrs. LTC, Inc., as a separate company to focus on filing claims. She has the dubious honor of having filed more LTC claims than (probably) everyone else in the USA. She is an accomplished speaker and has spoken for several Bar Associations and NAELA Chapters on this topic. She is the author of two books on Amazon – one of which is a how-to-file-a-claim book.

In her non-professional life, she is a Mom and Grandmother. She also has no TV – which gives her ample time to read, garden, keep honeybees, cycle, and play blue grass music.

Hidden Treasures: Underused Department of Human Services Benefits for Older Adults

Hugh F. "Trey" Daly III

Legal Aid Chicago

Approved for 1 general CLE credit

The training will describe the Illinois Department of Human Services benefits 1) Aid for the Aged, Blind, Disabled (AABD) Cash assistance and 2) Medicare Savings Programs. These two benefits are highly underutilized but provide very valuable benefits to low-income, vulnerable older adults. The training will describe how to apply for the benefits, eligibility criteria, and how to maximize benefits.

Hugh F. "Trey" Daly III

Hugh F. “Trey” Daly III is the Director of the Public Benefits Practice Group at Legal Aid Chicago. Trey has been in this role since 2017 but has been a legal aid attorney since 1987, previously practicing in Ohio. Trey also served as the Ohio State Director for Enroll America, a national non-profit focused on supporting implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Trey is a nationally recognized expert on public benefits and was awarded the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Community Health Leader Award in 2009 which included a $115,000 prize for the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati. Trey recently led advocacy with the Illinois Department of Human Services which led to an additional 100,000 low income Medicare beneficiaries being enrolled in the Medicare Savings Programs generating over $218 million in annual benefits. Trey is a graduate of Xavier University in Cincinnati Ohio and the University of Kentucky College of Law.

Membership Meeting

Mark your calendars - We hope you can join us!

Medicaid Spend Downs with Retirement Assets

Stuart Otto 

Ashber

Approved for 1 general CLE credit

In this presentation, we will discuss the different crisis planning options to consider in Illinois with Retirement Accounts. How income taxes are mitigated through these spend downs while maximizing the Medicaid benefit. Lastly, we'll discuss what funding options are available and which one to choose for your client. 

Stuart Otto

Stuart is a Medicaid Planner with AshBer, a National Annuity Wholesaler that specializes in Crisis Medicaid Planning and Medicaid Compliant Annuities. For over 10 years, Stuart has been working one-on-one with Estate and Elder Law Attorneys in providing the best spend down solutions for their Medicaid Applicant clients. He is a licensed Life & Health Insurance Agent in over 20 states.

Additionally, Stuart is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Green Bay in December 2011, where he obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Finance, with a Minor in Economics. He also obtained an Associate’s Degree in Marketing back in 2008. Stuart is a Veteran of the Army National Guard, serving for 6-years during his time in school.

Originally a Wisconsin-native, he now resides in the State of Florida and spends his spare time playing music, going to CrossFit, and enjoying the terrific weather Florida has to offer.

~ SAVE THE DATE ~

IL NAELA Spring UnProgram

May 16, 2025

Bloomingdale Golf Club

Membership Meeting

Mark your calendars - We hope you can join us!

Membership Meeting

Mark your calendars - We hope you can join us!

Spousal Refusal: Updates & Best Practices

Linda Strohschein 

Strohschein Law Group LLC

Approved for 1 general CLE credit

More details coming soon... 

Linda Strohschein is the principal of Strohschein Law Group, LLC. This boutique estate planning and elder law firm has its main office in St. Charles, and recently expanded to better serve the Northwest suburbs by acquiring Elder Law & Estate Planning Attorneys of Illinois in Arlington Heights. She concentrates her practice on Estate and Long-Term Care Planning, Guardianship, Estate and Trust Administration and Probate Litigation. Ms. Strohschein is certified as an Elder Law Attorney (CELA) by the National Elder Law Foundation. Although CELA is not required by the State of Illinois, this title is earned through a multi-faceted process and the attorney must successfully pass a comprehensive certification exam to demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of Elder Law. She is a frequent speaker on a variety of estate planning and disability topics. Ms. Strohschein is a current member of the Kane County Bar Association. In addition, she is also a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and serves on the Board for the Illinois chapter. Ms. Strohschein received her B.A. from George Mason University and her J.D. from the John Marshall Law School.