Attorney
Westfield, New Jersey, 07090
Elizabeth Engert Manzo is a Certified Elder Law Attorney and concentrates her practice in elder law, Medicaid and long term care planning, special needs trusts, wills, guardianships, estate planning and litigation, ERISA and employee benefits law.
Elizabeth Manzo is a shareholder of the firm of Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper, P.C. She concentrates her practice in ERISA and employee benefits law, elder law, trust and estate planning, and estate litigation. In 2016 Elizabeth became a Certified Elder Law Attorney, recognized by the National Elder Law Foundation which is the only organization approved by the American Bar Association to offer this designation. Only 400 attorneys nationally have achieved the designation of CELA approved.
In the area of employee benefits, Elizabeth acts as legal counsel to the trustees for collectively bargained multiemployer (“Taft-Hartley”) benefit funds; primarily in the construction trades. In this capacity, Ms. Manzo has advised on matters involving ERISA compliance, fiduciary responsibility, legal standards for plan design, participation, benefit accrual, vesting, and funding as well as other implementation and administration issues impacting the tax qualified status of such plans. Ms. Manzo also serves by appointment from a national trade association as independent professional trustee, on the side of management, on several large multiemployer trust funds. Elizabeth also has experience in both the single and multiemployer plan arena, with U.S. Department of Labor and Internal Revenue Service investigation and compliance issues, 401(K) plan mergers, prohibited transactions, and reporting and disclosure requirements. She is approved counsel for all fiduciary liability insurance claims with St. Paul Travelers and defends Trustees of both single and multi-employer plans before the United States District Court and investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service.
Elizabeth often lectures to civic associations and community groups on elder law, long term care planning, Medicaid eligibility / government benefits planning and employee benefits. She is a frequent presenter at the Annual Conference and multiple Specialized Conferences for the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. She has lectured before the Mechanical Contractors Association of America, Inc., the MCA of NJ, Inc., the Union Affiliated Contractors of the National Association of Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors, the National Electrical Contractors Association and National Asbestos Workers, as well as a number of hospitals, physicians groups and bar associations, for Professional Development/CME credit.
Elizabeth currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Gateway Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Enright Melanoma Foundation, and SarahCare Adult Medical Daycare Facility. She is on the Board of the Kean University Medallion Society Planned Giving Committee.
Elizabeth received a B.A. from Rutgers College in New Jersey where she graduated as a Henry Rutgers Scholar with high honors. She received a Juris Doctorate degree, cum laude, from Seton Hall University School of Law where she was a contributor to The Seton Hall Legislative Law Journal and a legislative intern to the Office of the Governor’s Counsel. Elizabeth is a graduate of the Richard J. Hughes American Inns of Court. In 2009, she was recognized by the New Jersey Law Journal as one of the top “40 Under 40” lawyers in the State of New Jersey for 2009 and in 2010 she was recognized by NJBIZ as one of its top "40 Under 40" list which recognizes men and woman across New Jersey’s business community for outstanding achievement.
