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Award
received November 2014 |
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BERNARD A. KROOKS
Littman & Krooks LLPBernard A. Krooks is a
founding partner of the law firm Littman Krooks LLP and
Chair of its Elder Law and Special Needs Department. Mr.
Krooks is a nationally recognized expert in all aspects of
elder law and special needs planning. He is the President of
the Board of Directors of the Arc of Westchester, the
largest agency in Westchester County serving people with
intellectual and developmental disabilities and their
families. Mr. Krooks is past President of the Special Needs
Alliance, a national, invitation-only, not-for-profit
organization dedicated to assisting families with special
needs planning. He is past President of the National Academy
of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), a Fellow of NAELA, past
Chair of the NAELA Tax Section and past Editor-in-Chief of
the NAELA News. In addition, he is certified as an Elder Law
Attorney (CELA) by the National Elder Law Foundation and is
an Accredited Estate Planner® (AEP®). He is a founding
member and past president of the New York Chapter of NAELA.
In 2008, he received the Chapter's Outstanding Achievement
Award for his lifelong work on behalf of seniors and those
with disabilities. In 2007, his firm received the NYSARC
employer of the year award for employing people with
disabilities. In 2011, his firm received the Family Friendly
Employment Policy Award from the Westchester Women's Bar
Association.
Mr. Krooks is past Chair of the Elder Law and Special
Needs Section of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA)
and past Editor-in-Chief of the Elder Law Attorney, the
newsletter of the NYSBA Elder Law and Special Needs Section.
He also is a member of the Trusts and Estates Law Section
and Tax Section of the NYSBA. Mr. Krooks coauthors (1) a
chapter in the NYSBA publication Guardianship Practice in
New York State entitled "Creative Advocacy in Guardianship
Settings: Medicaid and Estate Planning, Including Transfer
of Assets, Supplemental Needs Trusts & Protection of
Disabled Family Members."; and (2) the NYSBA publication
Elder Law, Special Needs Planning and Will Drafting. He is
chair of the elder law committee of the editorial advisory
board of Trusts & Estates Magazine, and serves on the
editorial boards of Exceptional Parent Magazine, and
Leimberg Information Services. Mr. Krooks, a sought-after
expert on elder law, special needs planning and estate
planning matters, has been quoted in The Wall Street
Journal, The New York Times, Newsweek, Forbes, Investment
News, Financial Times, Money Magazine, Smart Money, Worth
Magazine, Kiplinger's, Bloomberg, Consumer Reports, Wealth
Manager, CBS Marketwatch.com, Lawyer's Weekly USA, Reader's
Digest, Bottom Line, The Journal of Financial Planning, The
New York Law Journal, The Daily News, New York Post and
Newsday, among others.
He has testified before the United States House of
Representatives and the New York City Council on long-term
care issues. He also has appeared on Good Morning America
Now, National Public Radio, Sirius XM Radio, CNN, PBS, NBC,
and CBS evening news, as well as numerous other cable
television and radio shows. Mr. Krooks is past President of
the Estate Planning Council of Westchester, a member or the
Advisory Board of the National Association of Estate
Planning Councils Foundation, and the Hudson Valley Estate
Planning Council. He also is Co- Chair of the Long Term
Care, Medicaid, and Special Needs Trusts Committee of the
Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section and a member of
the Tax Section of the American Bar Association; a member of
the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States, and a
member of the American Institute of CPAs. Mr. Krooks also is
a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel
(ACTEC) and serves on its Elder Law Committee. He is an
Adjunct Professor at NYU Center for Finance, Law & Taxation
and is a member of the NYU Institute on Federal Taxation
Advisory Board. Mr. Krooks has presented on a variety of
elder law and special needs topics at the Heckerling
Institute on Estate Planning, the premier estate planning
conference in the country. Mr. Krooks has served on the
Board of Directors of the Alzheimer's Association
Westchester/Putnam Chapter and the Bioethics Advisory
Committee of New York Hospital. He is a member of the
Blythedale Children's Hospital Planned Giving Professional
Advisory Board, a member of the legal advisory committee of
the Evelyn Frank Legal Resources Program of Selfhelp
Community Services, Inc., and a board member of the
Caregiver's Insights Foundation. He is listed in the Best
Lawyers in America, New York Super Lawyers, Who's Who in
America, the New York Area's Best Lawyers, New York Magazine
and The New York Times, and the Top 25 Westchester, New York
Super Lawyers. |