Claussen, Jonathan F.

Michael H. Erde has been practicing law in Chicago for over 40 years.  He is a Certified ELder Law Attorney (CELA)^*, certified by the National Elder Law Foundation as well as an elected member of the Council of Advanced Practitioners (CAP), a small group of premiere elder law attoneys, all of whom have been members of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) for at least 10 years, are CELAs and are AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell.  He is a Member of NAELA and a Board Member of its Chicago Chapter.

He is recognized by his peers as an Illinois Suuper Lawyer for Elder Law, as featured in Chicago Magazine, and in 2012 was featured as one of 15 of Chicago's Top Rated Lawyers for Elder Law, by Martindale-Hubbell Lawyer Ratings, as featured in the Chicago Tribune and other news periodicals.

Mr. Erde is on the Board of Directors of the Sauganash Chamber of Commerce and the Greater North Shore Estate Planning Council.  He Founded the Chicago Bar Association Asset Protection Committee is former Chairman of its Elder Law Committee.  He is also a Member of the Edgebrook Chamber of Commerce & Peterson/Pulaski Industrial Council; the Elder Law Section Committee of the Illnios Bar Association, the Senior Citizens' Will Program of the Chicago Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association's Probate and Trust Committees, the Northwest Suburban Bar Association's (NWSBA) Wills, Trust, Probate and Elder Law Committee, and the NWSBA's Probate Probate Forms and Suburban Practice Committee.

Mr. Erde has been an Instructor/Lecturer on topics including:  Estates and Trusts, Elder Law, Guardianships, Probate, Medicaid, Medicare and Ethics in Elder Law, at numerous accounting, religious, corporate and educational institutions, including:  the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education (IICLE), Lorman Educational Services, U.S. Customs Service, the Controller of the Currency, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Business Institute (NBI), the John Marshall Law School, television and radio news, and a major cruise line.  He is also the Author of numerous articles on Elder Law, Medicaid, Trusts and Asset Protection.

In addition, Mr. Erde previously managed over 40 commercial and residential real estate properties.  Prior to going into private law practice, he was a trust officer of the Exchange National Bank (now Bank of America) and a member of the tax department of an accounting firm. 

Michael Erde lives in Highland Park, Illinois with his wife of 42 years.  They have two daughters who have followed his lead into law.  He was a member of the Ravinia Festival Community Relations Commissions and volunteers for the Chicago Bar Association Senior Will Program.  He has been appointed by the probate court of Cook County as Guardian Ad Litem on Guardianships and as special administrator on probate (decedent) matters.

 *The IL Supreme Court does not recognize this certification.