Mature couple using a laptop while relaxing at home

About Us

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At Fortified Elder Law, we are an expert resource when it comes to protecting our clients’ assets. As one of the area’s only crisis Medicaid planning attorneys, Rachel Fortenberry saw a need for a firm focused on asset protection, estate planning, and Medicaid eligibility. Rachel founded Fortified Elder Law with expert strategies, know-how, and the experience of helping more than fifty families become Medicaid eligible.

Fortified Elder Law believes in Education, Service, and Community. As a firm, we seek to provide educational resources to the Springfield area to explain Medicaid eligibility and how to avoid probate. Our firm believes in providing excellent customer service with good communication and respect. We pride ourselves in being a lifelong resource for clients to ask questions and provide answers.

Fortified Elder Law is a sponsor of the Rogersville Senior Center. We are also members of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce and Springfield North Kiwanis International.

Rachel Fortenberry

Rachel Fortenberry

Attorney at Law

Becoming an elder law attorney has allowed me to find my life’s work: helping clients preserve their life savings. My greatest joy as an attorney has been to help keep a spouse from losing everything just because they can no longer keep their loved one at home. Oftentimes, my clients have been neglecting themselves and their own health because of the mistaken belief that they cannot afford to place their spouse in a nursing home. Others have spent almost every dime to keep someone at home. These are the clients that I love to help.

I was born and raised in Rogersville, Missouri, graduating from Logan-Rogersville High School in 2006. I stayed local for college, earning a full ride from Missouri State University. I graduated cum laude in 2010 with my Bachelor’s in Global Studies/Political Science. I was lucky enough to attend Case Western Reserve University with a full scholarship as a Hugo Grotius Scholar and Frederick K. Cox International Center Fellow. I was also chosen during that time to serve as a member of the University’s Honor Court and Community Standards Board, based on faculty recommendations for students with high moral character.

I started my career as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Christian County, where I spent practically every day in the courtroom. I prosecuted a large range of offenses, starting with traffic tickets and misdemeanor assaults, moving on to DWI and manslaughter cases, and finally taking over the felony property crimes cases load for my last year, which included burglary, robbery, as well as financial exploitation of the elderly.

I was lucky enough in 2020 to find my life's work, which is to help clients navigate the Medicaid and long-term care process. I was fortunate to be trained by local attorney Sativa Boatman, who mentored me through my first Medicaid files. During my first two years, I was able to save my clients over $2 million from being drained by the nursing home.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending as much time as possible with my best friend and husband, Brad. I also give back to the community through the Junior League of Springfield, of which I am currently a non-voting member of the board as Parliamentarian. I also serve on the board for Hospice Foundation of the Ozarks and am a committee member for The Walk to End Alzheimer’s. I’m a member of the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association, the Greene County Estate Planning Council, and Southern Missouri Women’s Lawyers.


Education

Bar

Professional Affiliations

Savanna Moenning

Savanna Moenning

Paralegal

When I think of leaving a legacy, I want people to remember the good I did in this world. I have always been a doer, fixer, and communicator. That very skill set is being used by being a liaison between the attorneys I work with and the clients we serve.

I was born and raised in the Springfield area. I graduated Willard High School in 2012 magna cum laude and graduated from Missouri State University in 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in Communication, with a minor in Sociology, cum laude.

I spent seven years in education working at Ozarks Technical Community College (OTC). It was a great joy teaching people a skill set that I had no idea I even possessed before entering college. I was always a talkative person, I just hadn’t realized that I had the ability to talk to both individuals or a crowd of thousands. My time at OTC led me to many of the great opportunities, and I gained my lifelong friends, which led to meeting my husband.

When I started my position as a paralegal, I discovered how many of the skills I already possessed or honed during at my time at OTC would come in tenfold. I have grown very fond of Elder Law and helping our clients navigate the world of Medicaid planning. From my personal experience, no one ever wants to place their loved one into a skilled nursing facility, but when it becomes a necessity for them to get the care they need, it becomes the only choice. Helping families navigate their future and secure their loved one’s legacy is my honor as a paralegal.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my husband, Ethan. We spend as much time as we can at our second home, Cloud 9 Ranch, riding our side-by-side; riding dirt bikes at Chadwick; taking our two Labs, Sunny and Moonshine, to the creek; and spoiling our nieces and nephews. I am also an avid crafter armed with a Cricut, sewing machine, and an arsenal of knitting needles and yarn!