Howard Elder Law Lawyers

• Board-Certified Specialist, Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law
• 22 years' Estate Planning, Trust and Probate law experience
• Founding Member and frequent speaker, WealthCounsel, LLC
• Fellow, Esperti Peterson Institute for Advanced Wealth Strategies Planning
• Fellow, The Laureate Circle
• Member, Professional Advisory Committee, The Columbus Foundation
• Member, ePlanners Educational Alliance
• Board Member, Christian Legal Society of Central Ohio
• Accredited Attorney – U. S. Veterans Administration
• Honoree, Leave A Legacy Award – Central Ohio Planned Giving Council
• Rated AV “Pre-eminent” by Martindale-Hubbell / Lawyers.Com
• Rated “10.0 - Superb” by...

Attorney Mitchell (Mitch) Adel is the managing partner of Cooper, Adel, Vu & Associates. Mitch’s close relationship with his extended family has given him a deep appreciation for the issues we all face as we age. He is passionate about finding solutions that protect and preserve the wealth of his extended client family and for those they leave behind. Mitch has a mission to educate seniors and their families about elder law issues which he does through weekly educational seminars throughout Ohio and by contributing to publications such as USA Today, Forbes Magazine, Consumer Reports, Yahoo Finance, the Cincinnati Enquirer...

I am dual certified as an Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation, and as a Specialist in Elder Law by the Ohio State Bar Association. I am one of twenty-seven attorneys with this dual certification. I devote my practice to those issues uniquely affecting the elderly, the disabled and their families. Having been raised by a parent with early onset Parkinson's Disease, and having witnessed a grandparent spend over sixteen years in a nursing facility suffering from Alzheimer's, I gravitated early in my career towards the practice of elder and disability law. I established my Law...

Over thirty years ago, Thom Cooper created the law firm that would become Cooper, Adel, Vu & Associates with the goal of representing seniors in a way that maximized their independence and minimized the stress and burden placed on loved ones. Since then, Attorney Cooper has provided educational seminars throughout Ohio to spread the word about estate planning and elder law. He has helped thousands of seniors and their families find public benefits to protect and preserve their assets. Thom was among the first 19 attorneys in Ohio to become dually certified by the National Elder Law Foundation (NELF) as...

Christopher is now an experienced trust & estate attorney, with expertise in estate planning, trust administration, and probate. But as a child, Christopher R. Orr was always known as the kid with his nose in a book. This passion for learning was due to Christopher’s parents answering his endless “why?” questions with “look it up and teach us!” The ability to make complicated information logical and then turn around and explain it to others became natural for him even at that young age.

It wasn’t until Christopher was in law school that he was faced with the reality that most attorneys...

Paulette F. Balin has been practicing law since 1978. She was raised in Timberlake, OH and went to Laurel School in Shaker Heights. In 1975 she graduated magna cum laude from Case Western Reserve University and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. She received her law degree from Washington University in St. Louis in 1978, and passed the Ohio Bar in 1978 and Florida Bar in 1980. Paulette first opened her practice in Cleveland, Ohio in 1980. She has broad experience and success in handling Social Security Disability, SSI, and Long-Term Disability cases. Her legal experience covers cases addressing a large...

Charles Lynch is a compassionate Ohio family law attorney with 40 years of experience helping people through these complex and frequently emotional times in their lives. His practice areas include adoption, mediation, divorce and separation agreements, estate planning, trusts, custodial arrangements, and more.

As a founding and managing partner of a women-owned law firm, attorney Abbie Obenour is particularly interested in efficient practice management, networking strategies for attorneys, women in the profession, and mentorship.

Areas of Practice
Elder Law
Estate Planning
Probate & Estate Administration
Adoption
Assisted Reproductive Technology
Guardian Ad Litem

Education
– Capital University Law School
Honors: Order of the Curia
Honors: Felicia Beth Nektirz Juvenile
Law Fellow with the National Center for Adoption Law and Policy
Honors: Dean’s Award for Public Service
Concentration: Family Law
– The Ohio State University
Master of Public Health
Honors: University FellowshipConcentration:
Health Behavior Health Promotion
– The Ohio State University

Bachelor of Arts summa cum laude
Honors: College of Arts and Sciences Award for Excellence...

A Practice Focused on Business & Banking
Mr. Shonk represents businesses and banks with regard to financial, organizational and general business planning matters including:

Business, banking and credit rights disputes
Employment and labor law
Bankruptcy
Acquisitions
Mergers
Business reorganizations
Estate planning
Trusts
Probate
An Experienced and Trusted Advisor
Mr. Shonk’s focus on financial matters and business affairs has allowed him to be the trusted advisor to families and individuals who seek his services on estate planning, trusts and probate matters.

His articles on labor law have been published in law journals. Mr. Shonk has presented continuing legal education seminars on various bankruptcy and mechanic’s lien issues to both trade organizations and outside attorney...

Douglas R. Jackson is the founding firm member of Jackson & Curtin with office locations in Columbus and Dayton, Ohio. He received a B. A. degree, cum laude, from Ohio University. Mr. Jackson received his M.B.A. degree from Western Kentucky University and his J.D. degree from Captial University. Mr. Jackson is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association, former chairman of the American Cancer Planned Giving Council, and is a member of the Catholic Foundation Professional Advisory Group

Tonya R. Coles, Esq. is a solo practitioner in Columbus, Ohio. She focuses her practice on elder law, estate planning, and probate law. Tonya is a graduate of Capital University Law School. She is licensed to practice law in the State of Ohio.

PRIVATE PRACTICE OF LAW IN OHIO SINCE 1976.
LAW PRACTICE LIMITED TO ESTATE PLANNING AND REPRESENTING SMALL BUSINESSES IN ALL LEGAL MATTERS

Attorney Christopher T. Gasper is a full-service lawyer dedicated to handling complex matters related to probate, elder law, guardianships, estate planning, Medicaid issues, and real estate matters, among others. He proudly serves clients throughout Dublin, Powell, and Franklin County, offering fast response times and devoted advocacy. Through creative case solutions and tireless service, he is ready to handle clients’ legal needs. He is also well-versed in the latest technology and because of this, offers affordable solutions without the overhead. To learn more about Attorney Gasper’s practice, or to schedule your initial consultation, call Gasper Legal today.

Admitted to the Ohio Bar in 2012, Ms. Nagel has more than 20 years of relevant experience, including roles in a wide variety of non-profit organizations and government agencies. Committed to helping families through individualized estate planning, family law, and elder law services, particularly with respect to special needs trusts and charitable gifts, Raenell also serves the nonprofit and small business communities through expert and affordable legal services. In establishing a private practice, Nagel & Dougherty LLC, Ms. Nagel carefully chose her areas of focus in estate planning, elder law, and nonprofit and small business law to reflect...

Geoffrey Kunkler joined Carlile Patchen & Murphy LLP in 2014 and has been a Partner since 2018. His practice is centered around estate planning for individuals and business owners, as well as asset protection planning for retirees. He focuses primarily on the areas of estate planning, elder protection, estate administration, charitable and philanthropic planning and special needs planning. He also has extensive experience in conducting educational seminars on legal topics related to his expertise. Professional Accolades Education Geoff received his bachelor’s degree (B.A.) and master’s degree (M.A.) from Case Western Reserve University and his law degree (J.D.) from The Ohio State University...

Katherine has been a lawyer for 20 years, and has been a practicing transactional attorney for her entire legal career. Focusing her practice primarily on probate and estate planning (wills/trusts and other important planning documents), Katherine also has substantial experience with contract drafting, evictions (landlord side), business formation and representation, collections, and political subdivisions. Katherine does not handle criminal or domestic matters, but suggests you contact the Wayne County Ohio Bar Association or the Akron Bar Association for a referral if that type of assistance is needed. Katherine does her best to be the kind of lawyer she'd like to...

We don't do it all. Estate Planning and Elder Law is all we do. Learn how planning can help you and your family at AlerStallings.com.

"We care for our clients." A hometown practitioner, I am one of the fourth generation of a local family farm. I believe in service to my community, church, colleagues, and clientele. I help people protect their property and preserve and conserve it.

Eric Valente, JD, MBA, is an attorney and founding member of Valente Law, LLC. He studied business administrations and earned his MBA while attending law school at the University of Toledo. Eric began his career doing business litigation at J.W. Krueger & Associates, LLC, where he still maintains an office. Eric has always had a creative, entrepreneurial spirit, and estate planning and business counseling provides him with the opportunity to engage these interests while helping clients achieve their goals. Eric's focus areas are estate planning (Wills, Trusts, Healthcare Planning), Probate Administration and Business Law. Eric is a...

Attorney Andrew Popp focuses his law practice on Elder Law and Estate Planning. He is results-oriented, relying on his exceptional legal knowledge and successful litigation techniques to achieve results. Andrew obtained his bachelor’s degree from the University of South Florida. He then attended Stetson Law School, where he acquired his Juris Doctor with a concentration in advocacy. While at Stetson, he received numerous awards, including the Doyle Conflict Resolution Inc. Top Grade Award and the Leadership Development certificate. Upon graduation, Andrew served as an Assistant State Attorney. He handled criminal cases from initial investigation through trial and appeals and...