Mark W. Worthington

I have been in private practice exclusively in special needs law, elder law, and estate planning since 1992. I have been with Special Needs Law Group of Massachusetts ("SNLG") since 2013. Somehow in the midst of all this I have also been a full-time Professor at Western New England University School of Law, and Director of that school’s LL.M. program in Elder Law and Estate Planning. I left full-time employment at the Law School in 2018 but continue to teach in the LL.M. program as an Adjunct Professor.

Most legal websites, including AVVO, have no category for "special needs". Which is too bad, since special needs families comprise about 80% of SNLG clients. When we talk about Special Needs, we are generally referring to family members who have had some kind of disability or challenge since birth or perhaps even from young adulthood. Disabilities don't discriminate: SNLG's Special Needs families come in all kinds, from the wealthy to the financially struggling.

About 15% of the SNLG caseload is straight elder law (with no special needs, other than the elders themselves) and about 5% is straight estate planning, with no particular special needs or elder law issues. That leaves about 80% or more that have special needs children or siblings that the SNLG client is planning for or needs help advocating for. But, a high percentage of SNLG Special Needs families also have either primary or secondary elder law issues in the mix, and just about all SNLG Special Needs families have estate planning needs - indeed, more significant estate planning needs than many other clients.

To serve them, as well as all other SNLG clients, the Firm must bring to the table the highest level of skills and knowledge in estate planning, estate tax planning, income tax planning, trust drafting, asset protection, public benefits, trust administration, serving as trustee of special needs trusts, courtroom skills, negotiating skills, skills in dealing with a variety of government agencies, a deep knowledge of public and private resources to solve client problems, and an experienced-based practical bent for helping clients solve their problems, from how to transition a special-needs teenager to young adulthood, to keeping up with the changing needs of an elderly parent, to everything in between. To do this the Firm has a much higher percentage of high-level talent than the typical law firm: Three highly experienced senior attorneys of national reputation; two associate attorneys, one with years of pre-legal experience in assisted living management, the other brimming with youthful enthusiasm and intelligence, and four non-attorney staff.

The Founder of the Firm, Attorney M. Hines, and I have walked the walk. Between us we have raised a 27 year old daughter who was debilitatingly ill with chronic Lyme disease for 6 years, a 17 year old daughter who was severely disabled since birth who passed away in 2013, and a “typical” 18 year old. The greatest advance in my legal career was joining with Attorney Hines, herself a Massachusetts Superlawyer. To quote myself: “Annette and I complement each other so well. She not only manages the practice, but excels in the courtroom, in negotiations and working with government agencies, and in truly understanding the depths of the special needs world. But beyond that, we find that we operate in symbiosis ... together we accomplish legal results that simply astonish and thrill us, and which neither of us alone would have conceived.”

Special Needs Law Group of Massachusetts, P.C.
20 Speen Street, Suite 101
Framingham, MA 01701
Phone:
Fax:

Best contact is the Firm's Intake Coordinator, Ama Agyei: