CELA study guide
CELA · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA) designation is issued by the National Elder Law Foundation (NELF), which describes itself as the only national organization accredited by the American Bar Association to certify attorneys in elder and special needs law. NELF reports over 500 CELAs nationwide. The credential is aimed at practicing attorneys who want to demonstrate advanced knowledge and expertise in elder law and special needs law - areas that include later-life planning, public benefits, capacity issues, and advocacy for seniors and people with disabilities. NELF frames the designation as the gold standard in the field and as a signal of trust for families, seniors, and people with special needs seeking specialist guidance. Topics on this exam: Elder Law and Special Needs Law. The CELA study guide has 2 sections and about 1,061 words.
01Elder Law: Long-Term Care Financing, Spousal Protections, and Capacity
Elder Law tests how you finance and regulate long-term care for older clients: Medicaid eligibility and spousal impoverishment, Medicare coverage limits, capacity and guardianship, elder abuse and exploitation, and the ethics of representing a client whose decisional capacity is in question. Expect fact patterns that combine a nursing-home admission, an asset transfer, and a spouse remaining at home. Medicaid is the primary payer of custodial long-term care. Nursing-facility coverage is mandatory under federal law; home- and community-based services arrive through optional waivers, so state plan details matter.
549 words, about 3 min02Special Needs Law: SSI, Medicaid, Trusts, and ABLE Accounts
Special Needs Law tests planning for a client with a disability who depends on means-tested benefits, chiefly SSI and Medicaid. The exam focuses on which trusts and accounts count as resources, when distributions become income, and how to draft and administer a trust without destroying eligibility. SSI pays a federal benefit rate plus any state supplement to aged, blind, or disabled people with limited income and resources. The resource limit is 2,000 for an individual and 3,000 for a couple.
512 words, about 3 min