Justia Legal Services & Lawyers Directory

Has the thought of putting together an estate plan, trust , will, living will or power of attorney drain you?



Do you need a guardianship for a loved one and don't know where to turn?


Is the estate you need to administer or are about to probate

making your life hectic?



Has your family put you in charge of sorting a difficult family situation

and you don't know where to turn or even the questions to ask?



Do you need a plan for the future for yourself or a loved one that

you have been putting off until now?



Have you lost money due to stockbroker negligence?



Today is the perfect day to deal with these issues that have been on your to do list and we are the right law firm to do the job. We have taken care of these type legal matters for thousands of clients throughout the years. With our many years of experience and our rolodex of contacts, our goal is to get you through this experience smoothly.



With her boutique elder law, estate planning, probate, guardianship, trust and estate administration and and investment fraud law firm, Debra, a former chair of the Elder Law Committee of the Bar Association, TV legal expert, quoted in more than 250 periodical nationally, and voted by other lawyers as a top elder law and investment fraud lawyer, has help thousands of families with their legal needs. Every client is treated as if that client will determine the success of this firm.



Debra get results - effectively and compassionately. Her book "Money, Health and Home: Seven Steps to Helping Your Parents Navigate Retirement and Aging" is being published shortly.



Public service is an integral part of this law firm. We serve the community by educating the public and other lawyers about investment fraud, elder fraud, and elder law. We also provide extensive and worthy pro-bono service to the indigent elder community.



Debra is also an astute, experienced, and aggressive litigator with a national and international securities law practice. Before going into private practice in 1990, Debra was an attorney with the Enforcement Division of the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) prosecuting brokerage firms and stockbrokers for investment fraud and regulatory violations. Prior to that, she was an attorney and vice president with Thomson McKinnon Securities, Inc., an international brokerage firm which later merged with Prudential Securities. While at Thomson McKinnon, she passed every stockbroker and brokerage firm examination that the securities industry offered, including all options and commodities examinations.



Debra holds a law degree, a master's degree in finance with a thesis on program trading and stock markets, and a bachelor's degree in accounting. Prior to entering law school, she was an accountant.



She has been quoted in over 250 periodicals throughout the world, including Newsweek, Kiplinger's Magazine, USA Today, Crain's New York Business, American Banker, The Street.com, Securities Week and Investment News.



She had been voted by other lawyers as being one of Philadelphia's top lawyers appearing in Best Lawyers of Philadelphia. She is also listed in Who's Who in American Law and Who's Who in America. She was honored by the National Organization of Women Business Owners with their annual "Women Making History" award. Debra has been acknowledged by Arrive Magazine as being one of the five "Women to Watch" on the East Coast for her work defending the rights of defrauded Senior Citizens.



Debra is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum for her securities arbitration work. The Million Dollar Advocates Forum is limited to attorneys who have won million- and multi-million-dollar verdicts and settlements.



Debra is a frequently invited guest speaker for business, professional and non-profit organizations, and is a legal commentator for radio talk shows and television. She has appeared on Wall Street Journal Radio, NBC TV, CNN Financial News TV, CNBC TV's "Wake Up Call" and "Power Lunch Financial News," CN8 TV, Fox News, and WB17, as well as Comcast TV's "Legal View" with the Securities and Exchange Commission Director speaking on topics related to securities fraud. Debra has written extensively about investment fraud and elder fraud, and those articles have appeared in various newspapers and magazines.



Debra is on the Lawyers Advisory Board of the Pennsylvania Securities Commission. Pro bono work is an integral part of her law practice. She has been on numerous non-profit boards, including SeniorLaw, which assists indigent senior citizens with their legal problems. She is also on the board of directors for AMIT Children, and received an award from the organization for her fundraising efforts on behalf of abused and disadvantaged children.



Debra is a lecturer for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute and other continuing legal education programs on the subject of securities fraud and the elderly, and has been a co-lecturer with the Pennsylvania Securities Commissioner on the subject of investment fraud. She is co-chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute's annual elder law course "Legal Issues in an Age of Aging," and was chair of the elder fraud conference in conjunction with the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging, the purpose of which was to educate senior citizens on how not to become victims of fraud.



In addition to being a former chair of the Elder Law Committee of the Bar Association, she has been active in other committees and sections including the Probate and Estate Committee and the Securities Regulations Committee. She belongs to, and serves on, various committees and subcommittees of the American Bar Association, Pennsylvania Bar Association, Public Investors American Bar Association, American Association for Justice, American Trial Lawyers Association, British Law Society, Connecticut Bar Association, Florida Bar Association, New York State Bar Association and DC Bar Association. She is also an arbitrator for FINRA and the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.



Debra welcomes new clients and referrals from law firms and looks forward to working with you.

Aquanetta J. Betts is founder and principal attorney of Betts Law Offices, LLC, offering services to individuals and businesses.

Let us know how we can help you.

Manages Hodes, Pessin and Katz, P.A. Elder Law Practice.
25 years experience
Professor in Elder Law, Trust & Estate Taxation - University of Baltimore School of Law
Assisting clients with:
Elder Law and Estate Planning services-
Asset protection
Estate tax minimization
Wills, trusts and probate

Highly regarded for his preparation and persistence, Irwin Kramer has served as lead counsel on behalf of Fortune 500 companies, insurance carriers, and businesses throughout the world in complex civil lawsuits, commercial and real estate cases, intellectual property and media law, class action lawsuits, serious personal injury, professional liability and business disputes. Representing Maryland legislators challenging the constitutionality of the largest tax increase in state history, Mr. Kramer made headlines when his investigation revealed a conspiracy to forge and to falsify legislative records during the Special Session of 2007.

Profiled in Who's Who in American Law and in A.M. Best's Directory of Recommended Insurance Attorneys, this former law professor has taught at some of the most prestigious law schools in the nation, and continues to publish and to lecture nationally on trial advocacy and legal ethics. Dedicated to making the law "user-friendly" for those who must live by it, Mr. Kramer founded The Legal Television Network, where he produces features designed to enhance public access to legal information. Nationally, Mr. Kramer has also hosted legal programs on C-SPAN, and appears regularly as legal analyst for Sinclair Broadcast Group and its Baltimore flagship stations.

After graduating summa cum laude from Towson University, Mr. Kramer earned his Juris Doctor with high honors from the University of Maryland School of Law, where he won the school's moot court championship and was inducted into the Order of the Coif for his high academic standing. He received a Master of Laws degree from Columbia University School of Law and served as a Vice President of the Columbia Law School Alumni Association of Washington, D.C. Mr. Kramer is a member of the bar in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and several federal courts, including the Supreme Court of the United States. For more information, visit http://www.KramersLaw.com.

Paul Capriolo has been practicing law for over 25 years. He resides in Carroll County Maryland and practices primarily in his home County of Carroll and also in the neighboring Counties of Howard and Baltimore. In addition to being a lawyer, Paul is a Family Law mediator and conducts both private mediation and Court ordered mediation in his role as a mediator appointed by the Judges of the Circuit Court for Carroll County Maryland

David M. Goldman is a Maryland attorney in general practice, focusing primarily on Wills & Estates and Elder Law, with a commitment to the highest standards of personal service for his clients and their families.
He graduated from Northeastern University School of Law in 1996 and has been a member of the Bar of the State of Maryland since 1999.
David is also an expert in Jewish Law, and is active in community affairs, serving as an editor of several Jewish publications.