Floral Park is a suburban neighborhood located at the western border of Nassau County and located mainly in the Town of Hempstead. It straddles the Queens border and neighbors Glen Oaks, Bellerose, and New Hyde Park.
Floral Park has much to offer its residents of all ages and specifically, its senior citizens. There are several senior citizen groups where the community residents can become involved and benefit from the various educational, social, and entertainment opportunities.
Floral Park hosts an AARP meeting on the third Monday of every month from September through June and seniors enjoy the amenities of the Floral Park-Bellerose Senior Citizens center. The center offers a broad range of activities including ceramics, crafts, art, discussion groups, and occasional day trips. This center is an excellent opportunity for friendships and stimulating activities for local residents. Check the Floral Park or Town of Hempstead website for further information.
Other groups that are available for the senior community in and near Floral Park include the Retired Men’s Club, the Sixty Plus Club, and the United Methodist Women group at the United Methodist Church Parlor.
In support of the veteran community, Floral Park hosts the Floral Park American Legion Post #334, as well as the Floral Park American Legion Post #334 Ladies Auxiliary.
It is an honor and privilege for the members of Esther Schwartz Zelmanovitz, PLLC to provide legal services to the residents of Floral Park.
One situation that arises for Floral Park residents is their eventual need for long term care.
How do I pay for long term care?
There are several ways to pay for long term care, whether care is provided at home, in an assisted living, or in a nursing home. But one element that is common to all those requiring care, regardless of how it is paid for, is to make sure that the individual’s estate plan is in order in the event of mental incapacity and death. Esther Schwartz Zelmanovitz, PLLC can speak with an individual and his or her family to determine what documents should be in place, and how a person’s finances and estate plan can be structured to retain control in the event of incapacity, to preserve assets in light of the high cost of long term care, and to ultimately arrange for the smooth and seamless distribution of assets after one’s lifetime.
It is common for individuals to pay for a home health aide by spending down his or her own savings. Sometimes it is an informed choice, but other times it is because the person and his or her family did not know that with proper legal planning, they can preserve assets while having the government pay for the much needed care. The government program that would cover the cost of long term care is Medicaid. Because Medicaid is a means tested program, which means that a person cannot have more than a specific limit of resources (or “assets”), planning is needed for an individual who may have more than the amount allowed by the program.
In 2021, a person can qualify for Medicaid long term care in New York if they have less than $15,900 in non-retirement assets. Generally, assets include cash or anything that can be sold or otherwise converted to cash to pay for long term care. There are some exceptions to this rule including retirement accounts that are in payout status, a primary residence under a certain equity value (in 2021, the NY amount is $906,000), a prefunded preneed irrevocable funeral plan, as well as some other exceptions.
In addition, because there is a lookback period when applying for Medicaid, it is important to plan in advance and not wait for when the need for care presents itself. The lookback period for Medicaid qualification for a nursing home is 60 months and in NY, the law provides for a 30-month lookback for home care or assisted living care (this 30-month lookback is expected to be implemented in January 2022). That means that if you want to protect your assets, you would likely need to complete the transfer of the assets you want to protect far in advance so that if you need care in the future, it will be in more than 5 years after the transfers were made. There are exceptions to the lookback period, and additional ways to work around the rules, so even though you will have the best options if you plan in advance, if you are too late, there still may be options for you.
Even if someone is not ready to take any planning measures or not even ready to think about long term care planning, at a minimum every person should have a power of attorney in place that has long term care planning provisions included. A power of attorney is a legal document that gives the person that you choose the legal authority to act for you with regard to legal and financial matters. Because we don’t have a crystal ball, and we don’t know if you may become incapacitated and what you may need when you do, it is critical to have a power of attorney in place with expansive provisions relating to elder law and other critical issues, so that the person that you trust and that you choose will be empowered to take care of things on your behalf should illness, accident or disability befall you. It won’t be enough that your spouse, sibling or child is related to you or that you told them they can help you. They would actually need a legal document properly drafted and executed to enable them to act for you.
How does an elder law attorney help?
Because the rules are complicated, it is critical to consult with an experienced elder law attorney when the need for long term care arises to ensure that the process is handled correctly to get the proper care in place with maximum savings of one’s hard earned assets.
The attorneys at Esther Schwartz Zelmanovitz, PLLC would be honored to work with you.
We are happy to speak with you and help you with your legal matter. Be proactive and call us today at (516) 466-WILL or use our online contact form to schedule a consultation.
