Comprehensive Elder Law Services Addressing
a Full Range of Legal Issues

Carol Sikov Gross

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  • Sikov and Love, P.A. - Partner, 09/01/1985

Location:

Pittsburgh, PA

Phone:

Fax:

(412) 261-1455

Email:

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.

Ms. Sikov Gross is a Certified Elder Law Attorney through the National Elder Law Foundation as authorized by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, one of approximately 500 certified elder law attorneys in the country. She is a 2016 Super Lawyer as well as one of the Best Attorneys in Pennsylvania as selected by her peers.  Ms. Sikov Gross was chosen as an American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) Fellow in 2012.

Ms. Sikov Gross is the managing 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.

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 (NAELA).  She serves on the Council for the Pennsylvania Association of Elder Law Attorneys (PAELA).

Ms. Sikov Gross has served as the Chair of the ACBA Probate and Trust Law Section Council, recently completing her two (2) year term. She served by appointment in 2013 from Justice Debra McCloskey Todd on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Elder Law Task Force, which worked on various issues to help Pennsylvania seniors, issuing its final report in the fall of 2014.

Ms. Sikov Gross has served on the Council of the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) Elder Law Section and has been a Trustee for the Allegheny County Bar Foundation. She 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 is a past President of the University of Pittsburgh Law Alumni Association. Ms. Sikov Gross received approval to practice before the Veterans Administration in 2009 and attended continuing legal education on VA matters.

Ms. Sikov Gross served as the Treasurer of the Senior Action Coalition; a non-profit corporation formed in 1999 and designed to educate and to help protect senior citizens and their families from financial fraud. She 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 numerous elderly people and their caregivers at many presentations.

Ms. Sikov Gross 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 Older and Wiser Program of Neighborhood Legal Services Association as well as at numerous locations and to various groups around Allegheny County.  She also teaches at Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Carnegie Melon University and has taught at Osher at the University of Pittsburgh.

Areas of Practice

  • Elder Law
  • Estate Planning
  • Wills and Trusts
  • Powers of Attorney
  • Advanced Directives for Health Care (Living Wills)
  • Long Term Care and Nursing Home Planning
  • Medical Assistance (Medicaid) Planning
  • Orphans' Court Litigation
  • Guardianships
  • Special Needs Planning and Special Needs Trusts
  • Probate and Estate Administration

Certified Legal Specialties

  • Certified Elder Law Attorney, National Elder Law Foundation, Authorized by the Supreme Court of PA
  • Certified Elder Law Attorney, National Elder Law Foundation, Authorized by the Supreme Court of PA

Bar Admissions

  • Pennsylvania, 1984
  • U.S. Federal Courts, 1984
  • U.S. Court of Appeals Federal Circuit, 1996

Education

  • University of Pittsburgh School of Law, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
    • J.D.
    • Honors: cum laude
    • Honors: Order of the Coif
  • University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
    • M.B.A.
  • University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
    • B.S.
    • Honors: summa cum laude
    • Honors: University Scholar

Published Works

  • Writer, Pittsburgh Legal Journal
  • Writer, Pennsylvania Lawyer
  • Chapter of Powers of Attorney and Advance Directive for Health Care Declarations (Living Wills) in Estate Planning in Pennsylvania, PBI

Classes/Seminars

  • 1st – 19th Annual Elder Law Institutes, variety of topics, most recent 7/16, Pennsylvania Bar Institute
  • 1st – 17th Annual Estate and Elder Law Symposiums, variety of topics, most recently 2/16, Pennsylvania Bar Institute
  • Elder Law Update 11/06 – 11/15, Pennsylvania Bar Institute
  • Guardianship 101: 3/12, 4/14, 3/16, Pennsylvania Bar Institute
  • Long Term Care Planning for Seniors, 4/16, Pennsylvania Bar Institute
  • Family Caregiver Agreements and Use of Real Estate for Elder Law Attorneys: 10/12, 4/16, Pennsylvania Bar Institute
  • Fundamentals of Estate Planning: 3/12, Pennsylvania Bar Institute
  • The Second Season: Issues for Divorce over 50: 2012, Pennsylvania Bar Institute
  • Using Trusts and Insurance for Asset Protection 8/11, Pennsylvania Bar Institute
  • Understanding the Basics of Elder Law 4/11, Pennsylvania Bar Institute
  • Using Mediation to Resolve Disputes Involving the Elderly 10/10, Pennsylvania Bar Institute
  • Divorce and the Special Needs Child: 2009, Pennsylvania Bar Institute
  • Advising the Elderly in Crisis: 2004, 2007, Pennsylvania Bar Institute
  • Health Care Financing Options: 12/04, 3/06, Pennsylvania Bar Institute
  • Nuts & Bolts of Medicaid Planning: 2005, Pennsylvania Bar Institute
  • Representing the Incapacitated Person – A Guide to Guardianships & Special Needs Trusts: 4/04, Pennsylvania Bar Institute
  • Dealing with a Client’s Diminishing Capacity: 6/01, Pennsylvania Bar Institute
  • Making Sense of the New Medical Assistance Estate Recovery Regulations: 2001, Pennsylvania Bar Institute
  • Private Insurance Solutions for the Elderly: 1997, 2000, Pennsylvania Bar Institute
  • Estate and Financial Planning for the Elderly: 2/99, Pennsylvania Bar Institute
  • Private Insurance Solutions for the Elderly: 2/97, Pennsylvania Bar Institute
  • Managing Your Client’s Personal Injury Settlement: A Legal & Economic Analysis: 3/99, Pennsylvania Bar Institute
  • 2012 Solo and Small Firm Conference, Pennsylvania Bar Association
  • 1996 Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section Annual Retreat: Judges Speak Out on the 1992 Reforms to the Incapacitated Persons Act, Pennsylvania Bar Association
  • "Very Important Papers" Project for the Elderly for the ACBA, 1991 – 2010, Allegheny County Bar Association
  • Free Wills Project – Training of attorneys for several years, Allegheny County Bar Association
  • various topics, Pennsylvania Association of Elder Law Attorneys
  • Elder Law – Being Prepared as You Grow Older – 5 week course, 2005 – Present, Osher Life Long Learning Institute at Carnegie Mellon University
  • Elder Law – Being Prepared as You Grow Older – 5 week course, Fall, 2012 –, Osher Life Long Learning Institute at University of Pittsburgh
  • Older and Wiser Program, Neighborhood Legal Services Association

Honors and Awards

  • Named as a Best Lawyers in America in 2007 - Present
  • Named as a PA Super Lawyer in 2006, 2007- Present
  • Developed and Implemented the "Very Important Papers" Project for the Elderly for the ACBA
  • ACBA Young Lawyer of the Year
  • National Fraud Against Senior Citizens Week in August 2002

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • Allegheny County Bar Association (ACBA), Founding Chair, Elder Law Committee, 1998 - 2001
  • National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Member
  • Pennsylvania Association of Elder Law Attorneys, Council Member
  • American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), Fellow, 2012 - Present
  • Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA), Elder Law Section, Past Council Member
  • Allegheny County Bar Association (ACBA), Probate & Trust Law Section, Immediate Past Chair (7/14 – 7/16)
  • University of Pittsburgh Law Alumni Association, Past President, 2004 - 2005
  • Allegheny County Bar Foundation (ACBF), Past Trustee, 2003 - 2007
  • Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA), Probate and Trust Law Sections, Past Council Member
  • Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA), Past Chair, Fiduciary Services for the Aged and Infirm Committee
  • Senior Action Coalition, Past Treasurer

Past Employment Positions

  • Judge Glenn E. Mencer, Law Clerk, August 15, 1984 - August 15, 1985

Fraternities/Sororities

  • Alpha Epsilon Phi
ACTEC | The American College of Trust And Estate Counsel
PA | ELA | Pennsylvania Association of Elder Law Attorneys | Member
Pennsylvania Bar Association | Your Other Partner
Allegheny County Bar Association | Raising the Bar on Legal and Community Service