Heidi Fran Friedman

Heidi is one of only 114 Board Certified Elder Law attorneys in Florida. She has extensive experience and knowledge in elder law, Medicaid Long-term care programs, Veteran’s Administration programs and special needs planning . Heidi is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and the Academy of Florida Elder Law Attorneys. She also sits on the Unauthorized Practice of Law committee, as well as the Medicaid committee for the Elder Law Section of the Florida Bar. Heidi is  an accredited attorney with the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs and sits on the Advisory Committee for the Age and Disability Resource Center.  She was selected to be a participant of the Dementia Care and Cure Task Force for Broward County, as well as a Board Member of South Florida Institute on Aging; the Elder Services Resource Network and the Broward County Estate Planning Council.  Heidi is currently a committee member for the Palm Beach Brain Bowl, a luncheon dedicated to raising much needed funds for Alzheimer's Research.  

Heidi has dedicated herself to the elderly and special needs population, not only through her legal career, but also as the Development Director of Alpert Jewish Family & Children Services, during the years of 2009-2011, a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to provide necessary services for the elderly and individuals with special needs within our community. During her time a AJFCS, Heidi was responsible for fundraising needed dollars to allow AJFCS to continue to provide its invaluable services to families in need at low and affordable costs. Further, she was instrumental in persuading a City Board to circumvent its ordinance restricting the number of individuals AJFCS could help in one of its homes for the disabled, allowing more individuals with special needs to have a safe and healthy place to live. Additionally, Heidi was responsible for organizing community events, such as “No Excuse for Abuse,” a luncheon dedicated to raising funds for abused women and children.

Prior to the birth of her two sons, Heidi worked for a mid-size law firm who represented several large corporations. Her responsibilities included ensuring that employees of these companies were treated fairly and without discrimination as required under federal and state constitutions and laws. In this capacity, Heidi provided seminars and workshops discussing federal and state laws and regulations governing discrimination in the work environment.

Heidi is a South Florida native, sister of two Army veterans, and the mother of two sons, one with special needs. She was and continues to be a dedicated advocate for the special needs community and assisted other children with special needs to obtain necessary services within the school system. She successfully lobbied the state legislature to increase education funding and promoted healthcare issues. Additionally, she was involved with safeguarding our schools in her role as a Hearing Officer for the Broward County School system. Using her advocacy skills, as well as her professional and personal knowledge of the special needs community, Heidi successfully ensured children with special needs were not excluded from government programs, such as summer camp, and that playground equipment was both appropriate and safe for these children to play on. Today, Heidi brings her passion to assist others in the special needs and elder communities by focusing on Medicaid, Veteran’s Benefits and Estate Planning for the 65+ Community to ensure proper asset protection so they do not run out of money paying for the extraordinary cost of long-term care.