Wesley J. “Wes” Coulson
Principal Attorney
Wes Coulson is the founder and principal of Coulson Elder Law, LLC and the developer of the Better Estate Planning concept and website. He earned his B.A., with honors, from Northwestern University in 1975, and his J.D. from The
University of Michigan Law School in 1978. He is a member of the Illinois and Missouri Bars, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), the St. Louis Estate Planning Council and the Bar Association of Metropolitan St.
Louis. He has been licensed to practice law in Illinois since 1978 and in Missouri since 1997, and regularly serves clients from offices in both states.
He has been a Certified Elder Law Attorney (“CELA”) since earning that designation in 2004 from the National Elder Law Foundation (www.nelf.org), the only organization authorized by the American Bar Association to confer practice area specialization in elder law.* He is one of 16 CELAs in Missouri and one of 15 in Illinois. He was the first Illinois attorney south of
Peoria to earn that designation, and is currently the only actively practicing Illinois attorney south of Peoria to hold that designation.
Wes has also earned the AEP (Accredited Estate Planner) designation from the National Association of Estate Planners and Councils (www.naepc.org), which
is awarded only to estate planning professionals in the fields of accounting, insurance and financial planning, law, philanthropy, and trust services who meet special requirements of education, experience, knowledge, professional reputation, and character. Across all of those professions, there are only about 2,000 people who hold AEP designation.*
Wes’s practice is focused in the areas of elder law, long-term care asset preservation, special needs planning, and trust and estate planning and administration. He is a member of the Illinois and Missouri chapters of NAELA,
and has given numerous continuing legal education presentations for both, as well as being the author of several articles on various elder law topics. The Illinois chapter of NAELA gave him the “Ron Runkle Award,” given
annually to honor a member’s contributions of time and knowledge.
Wes lives in Waterloo, IL with his wife, Laura. He is the proud father of two sons, Jonathon and the late Oliver Coulson, and the proud “dogfather” of the office mascot, Ziggy. In his spare time, he wishes he had more of it,
and daydreams about retirement.
*Neither the Supreme Court nor the Bar of Illinois or Missouri confers or recognizes practice area specialization in the field of elder law.
Jyothi “Jo” Jayasimha
Paralegal
Jyothi “Jo” Jayasimha has been a paralegal at Coulson Elder Law for the past ten years. With three degrees, including a masters and law degree from Osmania University in Hyderabad, India, a Paralegal Certificate from St. Louis Community College, Missouri, and customer service experience, Jo has extensive knowledge in the area of law, customer assistance, and communication.
Before joining the Coulson Elder Law team, Jo worked in retail. She then went on to work for the Law Offices of Doraswamy, in Boston, Massachusetts, where she interviewed clients and prepared documents for visas. She later worked for a brief period for Sridharan & Associates in Hyderabad, India, where her duties included preparing legal briefs, reviewing government regulations, and filing required documents with the Registrar of Companies. Later, she earned her Medical Coding Certification in St. Louis. Jo then went on to work for The Law Office of Cathy Steele, in Clayton, Missouri where she completed a paralegal internship while she attended St. Louis Community College for her paralegal certificate. In 2010, Jo moved on to work for Intermed Medical Consultants until she joined the team of Coulson Elder Law. Jo has outstanding analytical and communication skills, which aid her in assisting clients to successfully apply for Medicaid benefits. Being part of Coulson Elder Law for a decade, she is always ready to take on any other task as required.
Jo resides in Chesterfield with her family and enjoys watching The Ohio State Buckeye football team on television and at “the Shoe” whenever she can get tickets.
Heidi D. Hagen
Office Administrator | Paralegal
The newest member of the Coulson Elder Law team, Heidi Hagen, arrived in our office fresh from the realm of personal injury litigation. Heidi, originally a Michiganian, holds a Juris Doctorate degree from Western Michigan University
Cooley Law School, a Bachelor of Arts degree from Michigan State University, and has been an adjunct instructor in the paralegal and criminal justice programs at two community colleges.
Heidi assists Coulson Elder Law as the Office Administrator and as a Paralegal. Her wealth of legal experience and knowledge in several areas of law make her an asset to our team.
Heidi resides in O’Fallon, IL with her family and enjoys exploring the Greater St. Louis area.
Ziggy Coulson
Official Mascot / Greeter
Ziggy Coulson is the youngest staff member and official mascot at Coulson Elder Law. Naturally enough, he took the title of “greeter” as well. Ziggy embraces his job titles, and is eager every day to come to work, except on the many days when he chooses to stay home and relax.
In his free time, Ziggy enjoys long walks around the neighborhood, playing ball, battling squirrels, raccoons, and other toys, and receiving oodles and oodles of attention. In case you’re wondering.
