People often ask me why I chose to focus on elder law and estate planning. Part of it, I suppose, is my personality. I enjoy working closely with families in a collaborative way. Elder law and estate planning allow me to do that, as opposed to some of the more adversarial areas of the legal profession.
The main reason I chose these practice areas, however, has to do with my personal experiences growing up. I spent part of my youth living in my grandparents’ home. My great-grandmother lived with us too. Unfortunately, she was not well, and required a great deal of care, including assistance with many of her most basic physical needs. Eventually, my grandparents and I were no longer able to give her the care she needed and we had to make the difficult decision of placing her in a nursing home. My great-grandmother did not want to go, but we really had no choice. We visited her almost every day, but there was still that feeling of guilt because she could not live with us any longer. I remember how hard it was to find a quality nursing home and how we had to continually monitor the nursing home to make sure she was receiving the best care. I also saw first-hand the difficulties my grandparents had in finding money to pay for my great-grandmother’s care, their frustration with the Medicaid process and countless other issues.
This, together with helping to care for my grandparents when they themselves became ill, is what drives me to help seniors, families and individuals plan for the future and cope during times of crisis. I know what my clients are going through, and want to do everything I can as an attorney to assist them. In short, this isn’t just a job to me, it’s personal.
Education:
B.A. Magna Cum Laude, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Juris Doctorate, the College of William and Mary, Marshall Wythe School of Law
Memberships:
Virginia Bar
Council of the Elder Law Section of the Virginia Bar Association
National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA)
Presenter:
Angela Manz will be presenting at the ElderCounsel’s conference – VA Aid and Attendance “Flight School” in December, 2011.
Angela Manz is licensed to practice law in Virginia and North Carolina
