Small & Insolvent Estates 2025

Attorney Marone is senior counsel in the Estate Planning and Elder Law firm of Gerhard and Gerhard, P.C., and has extensive experience representing elderly individuals and people with disabilities in a variety of matters involving Medical Assistance (Medicaid) benefits, wills and trusts, estate planning, guardianship, and Special Needs Trusts. He has pursued cases on behalf of his clients in a variety of forums including Orphans’ Court, Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court, federal court, as well as administrative hearings. He successfully litigated matters involving Medicaid Qualifying Annuities, Medicaid eligibility, the modification and termination of defective trusts, and the establishment, modification, and amendment of Special Needs Trusts. Mr. Marone began practicing law in 1994. After a lengthy military deployment, he joined the Office of General Counsel to the Governor of Pennsylvania in 2007. For seven years he represented various agencies of the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare and was the Department’s primary litigator and appellate attorney for both Medical Assistance long-term care and special needs trust issues in all the counties of eastern Pennsylvania. Mr. Marone left government service for private practice in 2014. He was a partner with McAndrews Law Offices focusing on elder law and special needs trust matters. He joined Harvey, Ballard, and Bornstein, L.L.C. as a partner in 2020, and then Gerhard and Gerhard, P.C.in 2025 to focus on complex Medicaid and special needs trust matters, including those that require guardianship. Attorney Marone is an active member of the Pennsylvania Association of Elder Law Attorneys (PAELA) and was named the 2023 PAELA Person of the Year and serves on the PAELA Board and Public Policy Committee. Mr. Marone is a lifelong resident of Philadelphia. He is retired from the military and is a veteran.

Mr. Strauss is a partner with the Lehigh Valley law firm Gross McGinley, LLP, with offices in Easton, Allentown, and Stroudsburg, where he focuses his practice on Estate Planning, Estate Administration, and Orphans’ Court litigation. He received his B.A. from Syracuse University in 1987 and his J.D. from the Western New England School of Law in 1989. Mr. Strauss is a member of the Lehigh and Carbon County Bar Associations as well as the Pennsylvania Bar Association (member: PBA Elder Law Section and Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section: Vice President Probate Trust Division 2012-2014, Section Chair 2014-2015) and Lehigh Valley Estate Planning Council. Eric is an elected fellow of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). He has authored numerous articles and frequently lectures to community and professional groups, including the National Business Institute and Pennsylvania Bar Institute, on the topics of estate planning, estate administration, trust administration, fiduciary income tax, Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax, Federal Estate Tax, and related areas. He also devotes time to community organizations including the Allentown YMCA-YWCA, Board of Directors (President 1997-1998), Trustee (1999-present); Lehigh County Senior Center, Board of Directors(2003-2009) and Trout Unlimited.

Erik D. Spurlin, Esq., LL.M., CELA, is the founder and principal attorney of Battlefield Estate & Elder Law in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, serving clients throughout Central Pennsylvania. His practice focuses on estate planning and administration, elder law, long-term-care and Medicaid planning, guardianships, special needs planning, fiduciary matters, and related tax issues. He is a Certified Elder Law Attorney and a frequent lecturer for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute. Mr. Spurlin earned his J.D., cum laude, from Temple University Beasley School of Law and his LL.M. in Taxation, with distinction, from Temple, where he also earned a Graduate Certificate in Estate Planning. He was the sole recipient of the Joseph Price Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement in Tax Law. He earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, summa cum laude, from Arizona State University. Mr. Spurlin is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the Pennsylvania Association of Elder Law Attorneys, the Elder Law Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, and the Estate Planning and Probate Section of the York County Bar Association.