Franchelle C. Millender, Attorney at Law
Ms. Millender has been in private practice since 1977. She began her career in real estate law. She gradually shifted her focus to estate planning, where she soon discovered that older clients needed more than basic estate planning. These clients often required guidance navigating the legal, financial and emotional challenges of aging.
In 1991, she attended a conference sponsored by a young organization called the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. She found that there was a shared recognition of the need for a practice area focused on addressing the legal issues relating to aging. It was called elder law. She soon began the process of moving her practice to this area exclusively; utilizing her prior experience, her appreciation of the elder as a client, and her wish to make a positive difference in people’s lives. Ms. Millender was in the first group of elder law attorneys in the nation to sit for the certification examination to become a certified elder law attorney (CELA) through the National Elder Law Foundation and has maintained her status as a CELA continuously since 1995. Ms. Millender is the principal author and editor of A Practical Guide to Elder and Special Needs Law in South Carolina, Second Edition, published by the South Carolina Bar.
People who have a need for legal services to address issues related to long term care and access to necessary services and benefits are not always elders. The evolution of the practice continues with the inclusion of special needs and Ms. Millender’s practice has evolved to include special needs planning and protecting settlements in personal injury cases without jeopardizing needs-based benefits.
Ms. Millender’s goal is to provide legal services that enable clients, despite adverse circumstances, to obtain the assistance necessary to achieve and maintain the highest quality of life possible.
Areas of Practice
Elder Law including:
- Long-Term Care Planning
- Medicaid Benefits
- Special Needs Planning
- Estate Planning
- Trust Administration
- Guardianship
- Conservatorship
Undergraduate & Law Degrees
- University of South Carolina
Specialization
- Certified Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation
Professional Associations
- South Carolina Bar
- Richland County Bar Association
- National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys
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National Board of Directors 2009 – 2013
Member Since 1991
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Former Chair of the South Carolina Chapter of NAELA
- Council of Advanced Practitioners of NAELA
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President 2014
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Charter Member, Member of the Steering Committee and the Program Committee
- SC Bar Elder Law Committee
Member Since 2004 (Chair 2004-2006)
- Special Needs Alliance
Ms. Millender holds an AV rating by Martindale Hubbell and has been selected as a South Carolina SuperLawyer in Elder Law since 2009. She is a frequent lecturer on elder law and long-term care planning and special needs planning.
Millender Elder Law LLC
1441 Main Street, Suite 725
Columbia, SC 29201
Phone: 803.733.3433
Fax: 803.733.2990
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