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Neal A. Winston
Neal's focus is on planning for the special legal needs of disabled children and adults. He works closely with family members, caregivers, and other professionals to ensure that his clients receive the full benefit of programs and support that they need. Neal is a leading authority on government benefit programs, especially SSI, Social Security, and Medicaid.
He also has decades of experience in asset protection planning for long-term care in nursing homes, and care programs allowing individuals to remain in a community setting with the support of public benefits programs as their medical needs increase.
Neal is a member and Director of the Special Needs Alliance (SNA), a national non-profit organization with a network of the country's leading attorneys in special needs law. Membership in the SNA is limited by invitation based upon expertise.
A long time advocate in the area of public benefits and special needs, Neal wrote the first edition of the "Social Security Manual for the Community Worker" more than 30 years ago. Since then, he has lectured, trained, and written widely on benefit programs and represented thousands of individuals before state and federal agencies.
Neal has served on the Board of Directors and is past president of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and has been certified as an Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation. He serves on the state and national Public Policy Committees of NAELA, and is a member of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants' Representatives and the Social Security Committee of the American Bar Association. Neal has also served on the Joint Committee for Judicial Nominations and the Committee for Security of Client Funds of the Massachusetts Bar Association.
Neal is the author of the Social Security Insurance Benefits section of the Elder Law Portfolio Series (Aspen Publishing Company, 1999), and is frequently published in magazines and bulletins. He lectures widely on special needs trusts, elder law, and public benefits programs. He is also a founder and president of the Belmont Land Trust, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving undeveloped land in Belmont and surrounding communities.
A graduate of Utica College of Syracuse University, Neal received his J.D. degree at Suffolk University Law School.
