Lisa Nachmias Davis
Attorney at Law

Elder Law & Special Needs, Estate Planning & Probate,
Nonprofit Organizations

My practice includes both planning for individuals (estate planning and administration, elder law, planning for those with disabilities) and advising nonprofit organizations. 

In the first category, planning for individuals, I have been certified as a "Certified Elder Law Attorney" ("CELA") by the National Elder Law Foundation (important note:  such certification is not officially recognized in Connecticut, which does not yet recognize elder law as a "specialty.").  I am the co-author of The Elder Law Answer Book, Second Edition (Aspen 2003, updated annually), which covers a wide variety of estate planning, probate, and elder law topics in a useful Q&A Format.  I am a frequent speaker on elder law/special needs and estate planning topics, and most recently spoke at VNA Community Care in Guilford on the topic "When the One You Love Needs Long-Term Care."  I serve on the Executive Committee of the Connecticut Bar Association Elder Law Section, and I am a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and an affiliate member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.  I am also a member of the Special Needs Alliance.  To improve public knowledge in these areas, I maintain this website, have writings included on the website CTElderLaw.org maintained by Connecticut Legal Services, and host a listserv for elder law attorneys in Connecticut.  I  also serve on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Agency on Aging of South Central Connecticut.  I have represented individuals of very modest means as well as planning for those with multimillion dollar estates.  My clients include middle class families incorporating special needs trusts into their estate plans or providing for children after their deaths, wealthy individuals seeking to reduce estate taxes through life insurance trusts and other means, disabled individuals over 50 trying to access benefits, individuals in nursing homes (and their families) applying for Medicaid or planning for future expenses, family members seeking conservatorship over a loved one or challenging the appointment of a conservator, and of course, the executors of decedents' estates. 

In the second category, advising nonprofit organizations, I am a Visiting Clinical Lecturer in Law at the Yale Law School, where I co-direct a the Yale Law School Nonprofit Organization Law Clinic.  I am a member of the Connecticut Bar Association Tax Section and an adjunct  member of the Exempt Organizations Committee of the American Bar Association Tax Section.  My clients have included professional associations, private foundations, supporting organizations, community foundations, churches and synagogues, advocacy groups, and numerous small publicly supported organizations just starting out.  Through my website, I try to give organizations as much "do-it-yourself" help as possible.  My articles in this area include "How to Stay Out of Trouble Under the Excess Benefit Rules," published in Connecticut Lawyer magazine; and "Remember Your Fractions:  The Public Support Test," published on this website and incorporated in the Yale clinic's curriculum.

I started my own practice in January, 2006, after being a partner in the firm of Tyler, Cooper & Alcorn.  Other past associations have included Robinson & Cole, in Hartford, and Cummings & Lockwood, in New Haven. 

I received my B.A., magna cum laude, from Yale College in 1982 and my J.D. from Yale Law School in 1990, following which I held a clerkship with Justice David M. Shea of the Connecticut Supreme Court. 

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Information topics (just click on the blue heading):  

Planning for the disabled 
Planning for the elderly 
Living Trusts 
Tax Planning 
Tax-Exempt Organizations  

Page last updated August 24, 2006.

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Disclaimer:
This site was first created in 1997 by a kind friend and is updated by me for the general informational use of the public. Writing to me does not create an attorney-client relationship; I can only provide general information, and will not provide advice about a particular case without a formal engagement.

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Lisa Nachmias Davis,
Attorney at Law
205 Church Street 
Third Floor
New Haven, CT 06510 
Phone: 203-776-4400 
Fax: 203-774-1060 or 776-4411
email:  davis@sharinglaw.net