Rockville Centre borders the East side of Hempstead Lake and is South of the Southern State Parkway.  It’s also North of both Oceanside and Island Park and is located in Nassau County, New York.  Rockville Centre, commonly abbreviated to “RVC” is an incorporated village within the town of Hempstead, New York.

According to the village’s official website, the namesake for the village is Mordecai “Rock” Smith, who was a Methodist preacher and early community leader, whose father operated a local mill.[1]  Also noteworthy, that the first bank on the south shore of Long Island was located in RVC, opening in February 1891, the Bank of Rockville Centre.

RVC is a favorite town for commuters to New York City due to the convenience of park and ride lots for the Long Island Railroad, which provides a 37-minute ride to Penn Station,[2] and the village is a mere 15 minutes from John F. Kennedy International Airport[3].  The town boasts 150 acres of parks, playgrounds, and ball fields[4], making it a thriving community for families seeking highly rated[5] local schools and a thriving village Centre.

Estate Planning Attorneys Serving Rockville Centre Residents

Our local law firm stands ready to assist residents of Rockville Centre, or “RVC,” with their estate planning and elder law needs.  Whether the client is a young, up-and coming professional making his or her first move to the suburbs, or an established family needing a revocable trust, Will, or documents to help with planning for their children, or those with more experience in their lifetime that might be needing help with elder law, our team will lead the planning process to completion.

Our law firm’s principal, Esther Zelmanovitz, is an “AV” rated attorney by esteemed lawyer peer-rating service Martindale-Hubbell, which means that her peers and associates have given her the highest rating available and deem her reliable and knowledgeable in her area of practice.  Seeking her assistance with Estate Planning or Elder Law issues can help you develop a custom-tailored plan to help your family achieve specific goals.

Often, a recurring goal of clients seeking help with estate planning, is the efficient transfer of assets to the next generation upon the passing of the more mature generation.  Simply having a Will or Trust doesn’t guarantee that the assets will transfer, however, due to the increasing cost of health care and long-term care services at the sunset of your life.  Forward-thinking and intuitive clients, like those in Rockville Centre, plan to protect their assets from recapture by establishing Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts.  This kind of planning can help to ensure that if they long term care in the future, their assets will efficiently transfer to their intended beneficiaries.

Common Questions We Receive About Estate Planning and Elder Law:

What are the most important estate planning documents?

  • Last Will & Testament (Will): A will is one of the most common documents in an estate plan. It directs how and where the things you own will pass after your lifetime. A Will can instruct on the recipients of specific assets of the estate, divides the estate for distribution, and also names an Executor to administer the estate. In addition, a will can nominate a guardian for surviving minor children.  The complexity of the Will itself may depend on many factors, such as whether the client is also establishing some type of trust, the amount and type of assets that a person owns, and the specific situations of his or her beneficiaries.
  • Health Care Proxy: This document importantly appoints the individual to make vital healthcare decisions when there is an incapacity situation.  A person should speak with the person they appoint as agent regarding their wishes so that the agent can properly express that person’s wishes when the person can no longer speak for themselves. A Living Will can accompany a Health Care Proxy which would provide clarity and instruction on what kinds of decisions the agent should make, such as termination of life support efforts, supplemental nutrition and hydration efforts, and pain-relieving efforts at the end of life.
  • Financial Power of Attorney: The primary purpose of a financial power of attorney is to empower an agent to make financial decisions and conduct business for the principal when he or she is unable to due to incapacity or other situations. Sometimes this is referred to as a “Durable Power of Attorney,” when the authority of the agent specifically continues when the principal no longer has capacity.   A power of attorney allows a person to choose someone that they trust that would be in control of their affairs in the event of an unexpected accident, illness, or other catastrophe. Without a power of attorney in place, there may be no one to manage a person’s affairs in the event of incapacity which could create tremendous stress and unnecessary burden to an incapacitated person’s loved ones.

What is a trust?

  • There are a lot of different types of trusts. Many people are familiar with a revocable trust. Sometimes it may be called a “Living Trust” because it is established during a person’s lifetime, and not under a will. A revocable trust is a typically called for where there are a more complex mix of assets, or when there’s a desire to avoid the probate process.  A wide variety of irrevocable trusts are available with accompanying strategies for very specific purposes and these irrevocable trusts are usually added to an estate plan as an additional or supplemental strategy on top of other estate planning documents. Sometimes trusts are titled as a “Family Trust” because the trust is established for the benefit of a person’s family.

What is elder law?

  • Elder Law is the focus of estate planning techniques for individuals in the latter half of their life. There are unique strategies available to help elderly clients protect more of their estate for their beneficiaries.  This might mean making sure that long-term care needs are provided for, or specifically planning for state-supplemented care by carefully arranging ownership of real estate and other investment assets.  Elder law also addresses special needs planning and protecting assets for a person with disabilities to enable receipt of government benefits while maintaining a superior quality of life.

Experienced Lawyers Ready to Help You Now

Our firm welcomes the opportunity to work with you and thanks to a complimentary consultation, you can better understand the importance of planning given your unique situation. Contact our experienced team today.

[1] http://www.rvcny.us/history.html

[2] https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/23/realestate/an-urbanized-suburb.html

[3] https://wikitravel.org/en/Rockville_Centre

[4] http://www.rvcny.us/history.html

[5] https://www.niche.com/places-to-live/rockville-centre-nassau-ny/