Our People

Janis is the founder of The Law Offices of Janis A. Carney, where she focuses her practice on a holistic approach to law, covering many facets, including Elder Law, Estate Planning, Alzheimer’s & Long-Term Care Planning, Asset Protection, Medi-Cal planning, VA benefits planning, Trust Administration, and Probate Administration. Janis assists clients of all ages and stages from young families to the end stages of life. Janis is an expert in assisting elderly, disabled, or chronically ill, she is able to assess their situation and come up with a plan that stands up to their unique needs. Janis attended law school in her late 30’s as a wife and mother of two, and after watching both of her parents pass away. Janis has gone through the process of dealing with the issues of aging, care and death with her parents and in-laws first hand. Her experience in her own family has given Janis insight and drive to jump in and fill a need for human kind by creating better plans that not only protect assets, but helps plan for a better quality of life for us as we age. She excelled academically at Santa Clara University Law School, where she won competitions in client-counseling by utilizing her skills in listening, identifying issues and prioritizing responses, skills she uses today as an elder law counselor and attorney-at-law. She has a deep understanding and concern for clients who are caring for a chronically ill spouse or parent, or who want to plan for their own future care. Ms. Carney asks her clients what they want to happen when they die, what they want to happen if they don’t die and what happens if they get Alzheimer’s disease. These questions really ensure that the client is thinking realistically about the hard decisions and is able to plan accordingly with their wishes.

Mrs. Carney has been recognized as one of the top five percent of elder law attorneys in Northern California every year since 2006 and was recognized by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization as a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law in 1995. In 2005, she became the first Certified Elder Law Attorney in Santa Clara County and in 2009 became one of the first Accredited Attorneys with the Veterans Administration in the area.

Today Janis’s passion is helping people to get the most out of what they have and plan for their future in the most effective way possible. Her holistic approach to providing a care path along with legal documents sets her aside from others in planning and gives her clients far more than they would get from a basic Estate Planning Attorney. Janis is a resource to many and as a student of life is constantly learning and growing as an attorney and as a person.