Carol J. Wessels

About Carol J. Wessels

Hire Carol J. Wessels for your elder law or special needs law issues. She is a partner in Wessels & Liebau LLC. She works with individuals and their families on issues pertaining to elder law and special needs planning. She helps people make complicated decisions on long term care planning matters, by explaining things in an understandable way. She understands the difficult issues related to elder care that come up when a person is diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and focuses a significant part of her practice on helping these individuals and families through their journey.ÿ She also consults regularly with personal injury lawyers and other lawyers whose own clients are receiving public benefits and who need advice on protecting benefits in light of a PI settlement, inheritance, pending property division or other development. Wessels & Liebau (originally Wessels Law Office) serves clients throughout the state of Wisconsin, primarily in Southeastern Wisconsin including Milwaukee County, Ozaukee County, Waukesha County, Sheboygan County, Washington County, as well as Walworth, Racine and Kenosha Counties. She handles cases involving matters that range from Medicaid planning and other long-term care planning including special needs trusts, to financial abuse, guardianship, estate planning, trust administration, probate, and Medicare Set Aside consultations. Carol handles contested matters, administrative hearings and appeals related to elder law issues, and frequently receives referrals from other attorneys who prefer not to handle contested cases. She has taken cases as high as the Wisconsin Supreme Court and Supreme Court of the United States.ÿ Carol's special passion for serving individuals with Alzheimer's and Dementia, their care partners and families, comes fromÿ her history as caretaker and advocate for her mother who had Alzheimer's.

Carol earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in 1985 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1988.ÿThe bulk of Carol's career has been devoted to advocating for the elderly, as director of the SeniorLAW program at Legal Action of Wisconsin, a staff attorney at the Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups in Madison, and in private practice.ÿ

Carol J. Wessels is is on the national Board of Directors of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA). She is a published author many times over, and has also appeared in media and on television, such as ?The Dr. Phil Show.? She also shares her knowledge with others through lectures and continuing legal education courses, and writes a blog about elder law and Alzheimer's at www.wesselselderlaw.wordpress.com.ÿ Further, Carol is highly involved in the legal community. In addition to being on the Board of Directors of NAELA, she is the past chair of and current advisor to the Elder and Special Needs Law Section of the State Bar of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. She is also past chair of the Public Interest Section of the State Bar of Wisconsin, and the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.ÿ

Ms. Wessels holds an Avvo ?Superb? rating. She was recognized as the Best Elder Law Attorney in Milwaukee by Best Lawyers in 2014, and has been on several top lists. Her firm, Wessels & Liebau LLC, is recognized as a Tier 1 Best Law Firm in the field of Elder Law.

Outside her practice, Ms. Wessels spends her time as a warrior in the fight to find for a cure for Alzheimer's through her work on the Board of Directors of the Alzheimer's Association of Wisconsin, where she currently serves as the chair of the Public Policy Committee. She also likes bicycling, camping and rescuing old dogs. She is passionate about a number of causes, including the Alzheimer?s Association and the Wisconsin Humane Society.