Our Mission

The mission of SCLO is to provide critically needed advocacy and legal representation to residents of Central New Mexico aged 60 years and older in order to uphold their rights, maximize their autonomy and ensure that they receive the benefits to which they are entitled.

Pursuant to Older Americans Act guidelines, SCLO gives special priority to seniors who are economically needy, socially isolated, medically frail and institutionalized.

History

The Senior Citizens’ Law Office, Inc. (SCLO) was founded by Patricia McE. Stelzner and Ellen Leitzer in Albuquerque in 1983 as a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation to serve Bernalillo County seniors.  SCLO is a Title IIIB law firm under the Older Americans Act.

In the 40+ years since its founding, SCLO has expanded to serve Sandoval, Valencia and Torrance counties, and now reaches an estimated 4,500 seniors per year.

SCLO has helped author and pass a number of statutes in areas of guardianship, probate, and advance directives for New Mexico.  Amongst other systemic advocacy projects, SCLO helped draft the original Guardianship Handbook, which has been regularly updated and utilized throughout the State.  SCLO also was a part of the impact litigation matter Maxwell v. Heim, which resulted in settlement allowing persons whose income were too high for Medicaid to qualify for services after their excess income was captured in an Income Diversion Trust, commonly known as a Miller Trust.