Patricia E. Kefalas Dudek
Advocate for Elders, People
with Disabilities
and Their Families

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Hafeli Staran Hallahan Christ & Dudek PC
4190 Telegraph Road, Suite 3000
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302

Of Counsel:
Mall, Malisow and Cooney

Phone: (248) 731-3080
Fax: (248) 731-3081
E-mail: pdudek@hshcdlaw.com

NAELA News Cover - Click for larger image and article

Patricia E. Kefalas Dudek is an involved and passionate advocate for her clients. She practices in the areas of elder law, probate and estate planning, and disability rights. She concentrates her practice in the area of estate planning for people with disabilities, elders, and their families. Her practice includes advising and preparing estate planning documents, including special needs trusts; representation in Medicaid matters to secure appropriate mental health, long-term support, medical services, and housing; and the administration of estates and trusts, guardianship, conservatorship, and other protective arrangements.

A member of the Oakland County Bar Association, Ms. Dudek is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and is a council member and past chairperson of its Elder Law and Disability Rights Section. As an advocate for persons with disabilities, she is an active member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, a past chairperson of its Trust Special Interest Group, and the 2005 recipient of the academy's Powley Award. In addition, she is secretary of the board of directors of the United Cerebral Palsy Association of Metropolitan Detroit.
Ms. Dudek has written and lectured extensively on topics related to estate planning for people with disabilities and their right to control their support services. Ms. Dudek is the author of the model contracts for Michigan's Self Determination Initiative. The first attorney in Michigan to draft a Pooled Accounts Trust for Medicaid planning, Ms. Dudek advises individuals, their families, and the organizations that established these trusts on their use to develop creative public and private solutions for the support and housing needs of elders and people with disabilities.

Contributions Ms. Dudek has made to publications by the Institute of Continuing Legal Education:

Advising the Older or Disabled Client, Third Edition
A comprehensive guide for lawyers who advise older clients and clients with disabilities. Covers long-term care, health care benefits, Medicare and Medicaid eligibility, guardianships and conservatorships, special needs trusts, and Social Security benefits.

Michigan Guardianship and Conservatorship Handbook, Revised Edition
A step-by-step guide to Michigan guardianships and conservatorships. Covers guardianships for legally incapacitated persons, minors, and developmentally disabled persons, as well as alternatives to guardianship. Includes sample forms.

ICLE Partnership - How-To Kit: Appoint a Guardian for a Developmentally Disabled Person
ASNP website
American Bar Association
NAELA
Elder Law Answers
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