Richard A. Courtney CELA, CELA

RICHARD A. (“Rick”) COURTNEY has practiced law since 1978 and is the founder of the Madison law firm of Courtney Elder Law Associates PLLC. His primary areas of practice are elder law, public benefits law (Medicaid, Medicare and SSI), personal asset protection and estate planning, trusts and trust administration, special needs planning for persons with disabilities, guardianships and conservatorships, nursing home and disability rights, and probate administration. Rick is the first attorney in Mississippi designated a Certified Elder Law Attorney by the American Bar Association-accredited National Elder Law Foundation. Rick is a former Director of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and the Special Needs Alliance (former President). He has been selected as a member of the Council of Advanced Practitioners of NAELA and is a Fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. Rick is named in Best Lawyers in America® in elder law and trusts and estates and has a Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Rating through professional review and peer recommendation. In 2009, Rick was awarded the 15th Annual Theresa Award by the New York-based Theresa Foundation, for community service and professional advocacy on behalf of children and adults with special needs. In 2014, he was inducted as a Fellow of NAELA, that organization’s highest honor. Rick was asked to testify before Congress in September 2015 in support of legislation that now helps adults with disabilities create special needs trusts. He is the author of A Lawyer’s Guide to Working with Special Needs Clients published by the American Bar Association and is the Mississippi author of LexisNexis Practical Guidance materials on Trusts & Estates.
Rick and his wife, Ruthie, have twin adult daughters, one of whom has a disability.