Joel A. Mendler

Senior Counsel

Joel Mendler is a Board Certified Tax Specialist and Estate Planning and Administration Specialist, as certified by the Louisiana State Board of Legal Specialization. Joel is admitted to practice law in both Louisiana and Alabama. He graduated Tulane Law School in 1968 where he served on the board of editors of the Tulane Law Review and received the Order of the Coif award

Joel advises and implements estate plans, including drafting Wills, trusts and advance directives, handles and reviews estate administrations, counsels families on financing long-term care needs including long-term care insurance and Medicaid eligibility, and counsels trial attorneys and families on financial and legal planning for disabled clients, including special needs trusts to preserve eligibility for governmental benefits.

Joel is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, the New Orleans and Birmingham Estate Planning Councils and the American Bar Association Sections on Taxation, Real Property and Trusts and Estates. Joel has been named to New Orleans Magazine’s ”Top Lawyers of New Orleans” list since 2013 for his work in Elder Law and Trusts & Estates, and has been listed in Best Lawyers in America (Elder Law and Trusts & Estates) for over 30 years. Best Lawyers recognizes those who most excel in the legal profession, based upon extensive evaluations by colleagues and other legal professionals. Joel has also been recognized by Super Lawyers since 2008 and was listed in the “Top 100 Lawyers in Estate Planning” in Worth Magazine in 2005.

  • New Orleans Estate Planning Council
  • New Orleans Jewish Endowment Foundation (past President and past Board Member)
  • Woldenberg Retirement Village of New Orleans (past President and past Board Member)
  • Advocacy Center (for the elderly and disabled) (past President and Board Member)
  • Metairie Sunrise Rotary (past President); Vestavia Sunrise Rotary
  • Birmingham Jewish Endowment Foundation (past Board Member)
  • Collat Jewish Family Services (past Board Member)
  • BHBM 36th Annual CPA Seminar- Metairie: “Providing Elder Planning & Support Services” (November 5, 20 I 9)
  • BHBM Seminar for Trustees: “Busting Myths About Special Needs Trusts” (July 18, 2019)
  • BHBM Seminar for Trustees: “Using Grantor Trusts to Preserve Government Benefits” (July 19, 2017)
  • BHBM Estate Planning Seminar for Life Underwriters: “Life Insurance Beyond Estate Taxes” (May I 0, 2017)
  • “Workers’ Compensation and the Special Needs Trust” (October 8, 2015)
  • BHBM Seminar for Trustees: “The Better Patt of Discretion: A Trustee’s Guidelines” (July 16, 2015)
  • Families Helping Families – Metairie, LA: “ABLE Act- Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2014 for Individuals with Disabilities” (March 19, 2015)
  • The University of Alabama School of Law CLE- Birmingham, AL: “What Lawyers Should Know About Detecting, Preventing and Reporting Financial Exploitation of Elderly Clients” (Februa1y 27, 2015)
  • New Orleans Bar Association Procrastinators’ Programs: “Avoiding Disciplinary and Malpractice Claims by Using Special Needs Trusts When Representing Clients with Disabilities” (December 29, 2014)
  • Loyola Estate Planning Institute: “Drafting Special Needs Trusts to Preserve Governmental Benefits” (December 4, 2014) BHBM Seminar for Trustees: ”New Frontiers for Louisiana Trust Law” (June 25, 2014)
  • BHBM 3 I st Annual Seminar for Life Underwriters: “Special Concerns of Seniors and Insurance Solutions” (May 14, 2014) 2014 Elder Law Seminar: “The Use of Special Needs Trusts to Preserve Governmental Benefits” Tuscaloosa, AL (February 28, 2014)
  • BHBM Special Needs Trust (SNT) School for Trustees (May 22, 2013) BHBM 30th Annual Seminar for Life Underwriters: “Financing Long-Term Care” (May 15, 2013)
  • Westbank Regional Libra1y: “What You Need to Know About Financial and Legal Planning for a Family Member With a Disability” – Grenta, LA (March 25, 2013)
  • 2013 Elder Law Seminar: “Post-Eligibility Medicaid Issues” – Tuscaloosa, AL (March I, 2013)
  • 2012 National Conference on Philanthropic Planning “Ethical Challenges of Fund Raising from Elderly Donors” – New Orleans, LA (October 5, 2012)
  • LSU Estate Planning Institute: “Special Planning Concerns for Older Clients” – Baton Rouge, LA (October 25-26, 2012)
  • Spina Bifida Association of Alabama: “What the Family Needs to Know About Planning for a Child with Spina Bifida” (November 9, 2012) 2nd Annual Spina Bifida Association of Greater New Orleans Parent Conference (July 24, 20 I 2)
    BHBM 29th Annual Seminar for Life Underwriters (May 15, 2012) BHBM 28th Annual CPA Seminar- New Orleans, LA (November 16, 2011) 20th Annual Estate Planning Symposium: “Estate Planning for a Loved One with Special Need” – New Orleans, LA (November 2011) Alabama Bar institute CLE: “Drafting for Disabled Individuals” – Tuscaloosa, AL (October 2011) LSU Estate Planning Conference: “Special Planning Concerns for Older Clients” – Baton Rouge, LA (October 2011) Alabama State Bar Elder Law Seminar: “Selected Ethical Issues in Representing Older Clients” (February 2001) Million Dollar Round Table 2010 Annual Meeting: “Keeping the Gold in the Golden Years”- Vancouver, Canada (June 2010) Loyola University Estate Planning Conference: “Medicaid Planning” – New Orleans, LA (December 2008)
  • Planning for Senior Clients: CPA Elder Care Services
  • Who Will Be There For My Child?
  • Special Needs Trusts for Litigation Proceeds
  • SNT School for Trustees
  • Buy-Sell Agreements
  • What the Family Needs to Know About Planning for a Loved One with a Disability
  • Non-qualified Deferred Compensation
  • Choosing a Nursing Home
  • Living Trusts
  • Advance Directives: Is Disability Planning Necessary?
  • New Orleans Magazine‘s 2024 “Top Lawyer” in the area of Elder Law
  • New Orleans Magazine‘s 2023 “Top Lawyer” in the area of Elder Law
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