Frank J. Danzo III
Chayet & Danzo LLC
Frank J. Danzo witnessed firsthand the legal consequences a catastrophic injury can cause to a family, at just 10 years old. When his aunt, at the age of only 31, was severely injured in a head-on car accident, his entire family was overwhelmed for the next 10 years as she lay in a nursing home in a coma before finally passing away. After experiencing the terrible complications such a situation causes spouses, children, parents, and siblings, he made it his goal to develop the legal skills to assist clients to plan appropriately so they can minimize the emotional turmoil should the worst happen. Mr. Danzo focuses his practice in the areas of estate planning, special needs planning, asset protection planning, charitable planning, legacy planning, Medicaid and public benefits planning, business planning (including entity formation and succession planning), estate and gift tax planning, and estate and trust administration and litigation. He also helps existing clients with real estate transactions (including construction law) and consumer advocacy issues. He has prepared over 5,000 estate plans as an attorney, as well as handling over 950 estate and trust administrations. Mr. Danzo has achieved the highest rating for both legal and ethical standards (AV) by the most prestigious lawyer rating firm, Martindale Hubbell, in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. He has also been named a prestigious Five Star Wealth Advisor as being in the top 4 percent of estate planning attorneys for 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 by 5280 magazine and ColoradoBiz magazine. He was also named a SuperLawyer for 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. He has achieved the highest rating of 10.0 with AVVO attorney rating service. Mr. Danzo has co-authored a book titled How to Protect Your Family's Assets from Devastating Nursing Home Costs - Medicaid Secrets for the past five years, as well as co-authoring the “Estate Planning for the Child with Special Needs” chapter in Elder Law in Colorado for the past seven years. Mr. Danzo has lectured extensively on estate planning to various groups around Colorado, including those associated with Colorado Jumpstart; Great West Life; Denver Community Credit Union; Senior Planning Services; Kaiser Permanente; US West/Qwest; Capital Management Group; the Colorado Association of Public Employees; Senior Tax Advisory; A.G. Edwards; Edward Jones; Wells Fargo Bank; the National Association of Retired Federal Employees; Coors; and numerous churches, temples, and labor unions throughout the state. Mr. Danzo is often asked to speak on television and radio given his broad experience in estate planning. He has taught classes on estate planning and estate/trust administration for the Colorado Bar Association, National Business Institute, Front Range Community College, and Colorado Mountain College. He is a Colorado native who graduated from Regis Jesuit High School and enjoys spending time with his wife, Melissa, and young children, Zachary, Taylor, and Jaden. He graduated from the University of Colorado with a B.S. in political science and received his J.D. from the University of Colorado School of Law. Mr. Danzo is admitted to the Colorado bar and is a member of the Denver and Colorado bar associations, where he belongs to the Trust and Estate and Elder Law sections. He is also a member of the Denver Estate Planning Council and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.
(04/20)
