When sorting out public benefits for your loved one with mental health challenges, there are plenty of barriers and landmines. It is essential to have a basic understanding of the “alphabet soup” of public benefits to maximize the available benefits.
Ellen Cookman
Attorney
For instance, how do you define “disability” for public benefits purposes? What is the difference between SSI and SSDI? How about the difference between Medi-Cal and Medicare? What are Childhood Disability Benefits? And how does the Regional Center fit into all of this?
Attorney Ellen Cookman will answer all of these questions and more at our upcoming May 10 general meeting and will provide tips for preserving these needed benefits. Ellen is the principal of Cookman Law, PC in Palo Alto, California, where she and her team are passionate about helping families of all shapes and sizes plan for the future and utilize available resources. Ellen received her J.D. from UC Berkeley School of Law and her LL.M. in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate from Golden Gate University. She lives in East Palo Alto with her husband, two cute and very active boys (one on the autism spectrum), a boxer-pit bull mix named Ulysses and a kitty named Skittles.
