Sloan & Feller in Mahopac Helps Families Plan for the Future
What do you do when a family member falls ill or you need to find care for an aging relative? The team at Sloan & Feller, a Mahopac-based law firm, is there to help.
Managing partner Alan Feller has more than 20 years’ experience and insight working in elder law to assist families with legal issues they may encounter with an aging relative.
“In every family, when there is a loved one or parent, there is always the question of how you protect them, how do you pay for long-term care,” Feller said. “It’s the hardest thing to figure out. What do you do when a family member gets sick? They go into a hospital and everyone panics. There is no template for that.”
Feller, a Rockland County native, had seen firsthand the importance of elder law. In 1996, his grandfather passed away while he was attending Brooklyn Law School.
“I saw that there was a real need to help families and help people,” he said.
Three years later, Feller graduated law school and went to work with Leslie Sloan, then a Manhattan elder care attorney. In 2002, Feller became a partner, and the next year after Feller moved to Brewster, the firm moved to Mahopac, where it has been ever since.
Sloan has since retired, but Feller and the firm’s staff of six have served the tristate area and beyond. Its services include Medicaid advisement, advance directives, guardianship, disability, wills, trusts and caregiving assistance. Taking a proactive approach ensures that family members and their assets are protected in the years to come.
“Elder law helps preserve the assets of the family so that maybe a kid can afford to go to college, or that someone can start their life and buy a house,” Feller said.
In addition to legal counsel at Sloan & Feller, the firm also has three Medicaid service coordinators on staff who understand the complexities of Medicare and Medicaid. The coordinators can leverage those services to pay for care for a client’s loved one.
“It’s good to have other types of professionals who have real experience handling families, understanding health care and the logistics,” Feller said. “So having both lawyers and Medicaid service coordinators in the firm is beneficial.”
Now for close to 20 years, Sloan & Feller has been thriving, thanks in part to the firm’s personalized approach to every client. Feller greets each client with a smile and friendly demeanor as they navigate the emotionally taxing journey of aiding a sick or aging relative.
“It has always been about how would you feel if you’re on the opposite side?” he said. “Let’s work through this issue together. This is a relationship; this is a communication and you just build off of that.”
Feller and his firm have served countless families and watch as children grow into adults and become the firm’s newest clients.
“Families just keep coming back. I start with the grandparents, then we have the parents and sometimes even the siblings come in and start to plan,” Feller said. “It’s multigenerational.”
Feller’s top advice for families that are planning a loved one’s future? Make sure to have good communication with the rest of your family.
“You can’t do things alone,” he said. “Everyone needs help and support.”
Sloan & Feller Attorneys at Law has an office at 625 Route 6 in Mahopac. To learn more about the firm, call 845-621-8640 or visit www.sloanandfeller.com.
