Howard S. Krooks, a partner of Elder Law Associates PA with offices throughout Southeast Florida, is admitted to practice law in New York (1990) and Florida (2004). Mr. Krooks is Of Counsel to Amoruso & Amoruso, LLP, in Rye Brook, New York.
Mr. Krooks splits his time between New York and Florida, where his professional practice is devoted to elder law and trusts and estates matters, including representing seniors and persons with special needs and their families in connection with asset preservation planning, supplemental needs trusts, Medicaid, Medicare, planning for disability, guardianship, wills, trusts and health care planning with advance directives.
Mr. Krooks is certified as an Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation and is currently serving as Immediate Past President of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA). He is also the current President of the New York chapter of NAELA. He is a Past Chair of the Elder Law Section of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA). He was selected as a Florida Super Lawyer and a New York Super Lawyer (2007-2014). He was also named a Top 25 Westchester County Attorney (New York Times – Sept. 2012-2014). Mr. Krooks has a 10.0 (Excellent) rating from Avvo and is AV Preeminent® rated by Martindale-Hubbell, a testament that Mr. Krooks’ peers rank him at the highest level of professional excellence.
Mr. Krooks received the Outstanding Achievement Award from the NY Chapter of NAELA in 2006 for serving as Co-Chair of a Special Committee on Medicaid Legislation formed by the NYSBA Elder Law Section to oppose NY Governor George Pataki’s budget bills containing numerous restrictive Medicaid eligibility provisions that, if enacted, would severely impact the frail elderly and disabled populations. He was also recognized for serving as Co-Chair of the NYSBA Elder Law Section Compact Working Group, which received national attention for developing alternative methods of financing long-term care. Additionally, Mr. Krooks served as Chair of a Special Committee created by the NYSBA Elder Law Section to address the Statewide Commission on Fiduciary Appointments formed by Chief Justice Judith Kaye.
Mr. Krooks co-authored the chapter, “Creative Advocacy in Guardianship Settings: Medicaid and Estate Planning Including Transfer of Assets, Supplemental Needs Trusts and Protection of Disabled Family Members” included in Guardianship Practice in New York State, and the chapter “Long Term Care Insurance in New York” included in Estate Planning and Will Drafting in New York, both published by the NYSBA. He is widely published on many elder law topics. A former Adjunct Assistant Professor at New York University’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies, Mr. Krooks taught Asset Protection Planning. He also served as an instructor for the NY Certified Guardian & Court Evaluator Training program.
Mr. Krooks is a Founding Principal of ElderCounsel LLC, the premier elder law and special needs planning document drafting solution for attorneys.
As a frequent lecturer, Mr. Krooks has addressed many organizations including NAELA, Stetson Special Needs Conference, ALI-ABA, ElderCounsel, WealthCounsel, the National Guardianship Association, the Florida Bar Association, the Academy of Florida Elder Law Attorneys, the NYSBA, the North Carolina Bar Association, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, UJA Federation, the Brooklyn Bar Association, the Queens County Bar Association, Berkeley College, the United Federation of Teachers and the New York State United Teachers, among others. Mr. Krooks has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Kiplinger’s, USA Today, The New York Post, Newsday, The Journal News and the Boca Raton News. He has appeared on PBS, the CBS Early Morning Show and elder law focused local cable television programs.