By: Jeffrey D. Stauffer – Community Relations Director, jeff@elvilleassociates.com,
443-393-7696
Stephen R. Elville, principal at Elville and Associates, has been selected to the 2017 Maryland Super Lawyers list. Each year, no more than five percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor. This is Mr. Elville’s second year having been named to the Maryland Super Lawyers list, as he received the honor in 2015 as well.
Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates and peer reviews by practice area. The result is a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys. The Super Lawyers lists are published nationwide in Super Lawyers Magazines and in leading city and regional magazines and newspapers across the country. For more information about Super Lawyers, visit www.superlawyers.com.
“I am honored and happy to be selected to the Maryland Super Lawyers list this year,” remarked Mr. Elville. “But, I’m even more proud that my selection is likely a reflection of the good things we collectively are doing for clients and the community at Elville and Associates.”
Mr. Elville, founder of Elville and Associates in 2010, works with individuals and families to provide a unique attorney-client experience and peace-of-mind solutions to the challenges they face with estate planning, elder law, special needs planning, asset protection, tax planning, and with disability and long-term care planning issues. Mr. Elville has extensive experience in working with clients involved in crisis situations, and he also brings a unique and personalized approach to pre-crisis planning as well.
Mr. Elville routinely handles client issues in the following areas: wills, trusts, estate tax planning, powers of attorney, living wills/advance medical directives, Medicaid planning and qualification, estate administration, fiduciary representation, nursing home selection, guardianships, special needs planning for children and adults, Social Security Disability Income (SSDI), Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and IRS tax controversy.
He is a member of the National Association of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), Elder Counsel, Wealth Counsel and the Advisors’ Forum. He is the past Chair of the Howard County Bar Association Estates and Trusts and Elder Law Sections and is the past President of the Coalition of Geriatric Services (COGS). Mr. Elville currently serves as a member of the Maryland State Bar Association Elder Law Section Council and the Charitable Gift Planning Advisory Committee for Anne Arundel Medical Center (CGPAC).
In 2014, Mr. Elville founded the Elville Center for the Creative Arts, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation whose mission is to improve the quality of life of children of all ages by providing them the opportunity to learn music theory and application, and experience cultural events related to the musical and creative arts; and to use music and the promotion of music-related activities to transcend social and economic divisions. The charity partners with schools’ music programs and other organizations to provide new and refurbished donated musical instruments to students, purchase music supplies, fund field trips, offer music lessons, and work with organizations to begin new music programs. For more information about the Elville Center, please visit www.elvillecenter.org or contact 443-393-7696.
In 2015, Mr. Elville founded Waypoint Trust Group, a division within Elville and Associates. Attorneys in the Waypoint Trust Group serve as trustees/co-trustees of trusts of all sizes, including trusts with assets below corporate trustee minimum requirements, irrevocable life insurance trusts, and special needs trusts. Waypoint Trust Group’s attorneys also serve as trust protectors.
In addition to serving as trustees and trust protectors, Waypoint Trust Group offers the following services to individual and corporate trustees: legal representation, including but not limited to: compliance with the Maryland Trust Act requirements; court proceedings related to administering a trust (ex. modifications of trust terms, judicial terminations); and guidance on interpretation of trust terms; preparation of trust income tax returns; preparation of trust accountings; maintenance of trust books and records; assistance with initial set-up of new trusts (obtain tax ID number, organize trust management, open new trust accounts); manage trust terminations, including: calculating distributions, determining Inheritance tax due (if applicable); and preparing releases of liability for trustees.
This year, Mr. Elville developed a new estate planning initiative, Elville Self-Direct, a limited-attorney-assistance client education program for individuals and families. The program’s goal is to offer certain clients an option who wish to streamline the estate planning process yet still receive the all-important educational component for which Elville and Associates is widely known.
Elville & Associates engages clients in a multi-step educational process to ensure that estate and elder law planning works from inception, throughout lifetime and at death. Clients are encouraged to take advantage of the “Planning Team Concept” for leading-edge, customized planning. The firm considers counseling and education of paramount importance while working with its clients and surrounding community.
For more information about Elville and Associates, please visit www.elvilleassociates-staging.bgbshlgq-liquidwebsites.com or call 443-393-7696. You can also follow the firm on Twitter at @ElvilleAssoc.