Attorney Profiles

As one of the few Certified Elder Law Attorneys in Western Pennsylvania, Carol Sikov Gross offers her clients unparalleled experience in dealing with the important issues that affect senior citizens and their families.

Carol Sikov Gross, CELA, is a partner in the Pittsburgh law firm of Sikov and Love, P.A. She received her B.S., her M.B.A. and her J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. Ms. Sikov Gross served a clerkship with the late Honorable Glenn E. Mencer of the United States District for the Western District of Pennsylvania before joining Sikov and Love, P.A.

Carol Sikov Gross, Esquire, CELA, a Certified Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation as recognized by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, of the law firm of Sikov and Love, P.A., is one of only 3 CELAs in Allegheny County and one of approximately 400 in the country. She has participated in numerous symposiums and institutes of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), the most recent being its May, 2007 Symposium in Cleveland, Ohio. 

Carol Sikov Gross, Esquire, CELA, is a frequent lecturer for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, speaking annually at its Annual Elder Law Institute.  She spoke most recently at the Tenth Annual Institute in Hershey, Pennsylvania and has spoken at the nine previous Institutes. This year her topic was on Managing the Math in Medicaid under Pennsylvania law and under the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. Attorney Sikov Gross discussed how changes in the law resulted in changes in the way to do the calculations for clients to determine what assets can be protected with regard to Medicaid eligibility.   She also participated in the final panel discussion of the Institute on the Graying Areas of Elder Law along with certified elder law attorneys Jeffrey A. Marshall of Williamsport, Linda M. Anderson of Media and Robert Clofine of York and counsel for the Department of Public Welfare, Andrew Coates. Attorney Sikov Gross was selected by her peers as one of the Best Lawyers in America for 2007 in the field of Elder Law.

On March 8, 2006, Carol Sikov Gross, CELA was one of the first local attorneys to discuss the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, signed into law on February 8, 2006,at the 7th Annual Estate and Elder Law Symposium in Pittsburgh, PA.  At the 8th Annual Estate and Elder Law Symposium, she spoke on the topics of Recent Developments in Elder Law and on Crunching the Numbers for Medicaid. This program was attended by over 300 attorneys who wanted to learn about the impact on long term care planning and Medicaid eligibility by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.

In addition to educating attorneys in the area of elder, Carol Sikov Gross, Esquire, CELA, also teaches a course at the Academy for Lifelong Learning (ALL) at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh on Elder Law -- Being Prepared on One Grows Older.  In the fall of 2007, she will cover estate planning, which deals with wills, trusts, powers of attorney and living wills as well as long term care planning, Medicaid, probate and estate administration and financial fraud.  This course has been well received and appreciated by ALL members. Ms. Sikov Gross also makes numerous presentations to other groups in and around Allegheny County.

With regard to public service, Attorney Sikov Gross serves as Treasurer of the Senior Action Coalition, a non-profit corporation established to help combat financial fraud against seniors by educating seniors and their caregivers about financial fraud, by serving as a clearing house for the reporting of financial fraud and by directing individuals who have been the victims of financial fraud to the appropriate law enforcement agencies. SAC is made up of representatives from the United States Attorneys Office, the State Attorney General's Office, the Postal Inspection Service, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the PA Securities Commission, the Center of Retired Executives (CORE), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Mullen Communications, AARP and local elder law attorneys.

As part of her dedication to public service, Carol Sikov Gross, CELA, has just completed service as a Trustee for the Allegheny County Bar Foundation, the charitable arm of the Allegheny County Bar Association, which provides funding and resources to numerous legal public service projects.  She also helps in grading examinations for the National Elder Law Foundation.

Carol Sikov Gross, CELA, also developed and implemented the "Very Important Papers" Project for the Elderly for the ACBA in 1991, which, through the services of volunteer attorneys has educated an estimated 34,000 elderly people and their caregivers at over 700 presentations since 1991.  Her associate, Zoe E. Babe, is all now one of the VIP presenters.

In 1998, Ms. Sikov Gross became the founding Chair of the Elder Law Committee of the Allegheny County Bar Association (ACBA), serving in that position for 3 years. Ms. Sikov Gross is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. She serves on the Council of the ACBA Probate and Trust Law Section as well as on the Council of the Elder Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA).

Ms. Sikov Gross is a past President of the University of Pittsburgh Law Alumni Association and has also served on the Council of the PBA Probate and Trust Law Section and as Chair of its Fiduciary Services for the Aged and Infirm Committee.

She writes for the Pittsburgh Legal Journal, the Pennsylvania Lawyer and the Pennsylvania Bar Institute.  Carol Sikov Gross, CELA, has spoken for the ACBA, the PBA, the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Pittsburgh Paralegal Association, the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association, the Academy for Lifelong Learning and the Older and Wiser Program of the Neighborhood Legal Services Association as well as at numerous locations around Allegheny County.