Rockville Centre Elder Law Attorney

Elder Law & Medicaid Planning Attorneys Serving Rockville Centre

The village of Rockville Centre was incorporated in 1893 and is located on the southwestern side of Long Island, in the Town of Hempstead, Nassau County. As of a 2010 census, the population count was 26,646 with about 10,000 households predominantly single family residences, and some town houses, condos, and apartments. On its approximately 3.25 square miles, it is home to Molloy College, several synagogues, multiple churches, and is the headquarters of the Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre.

Rockville Centre is very suburban yet is only a 35-minute LIRR train ride to or from New York City as it sits about 25 miles east of midtown Manhattan.

Some of Rockville Centre’s neighbors include Oceanside, Baldwin, Lynbrook. Within Rockville Centre, there are excellent public schools and multiple parks and playgrounds.

In addition, Rockville Centre is home of several senior programs including the Silver Fox Group where seniors can enjoy lunch, bingo, and field trips. The Village has various recreation and entertainment activities throughout the year.

Rockville Centre is home to some very fine senior living communities such as Maple Pointe Assisted Living and Rockville Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

Residents of Rockville Centre, and the surrounding areas such as Oceanside, Baldwin, and Lynbrook, work hard for their families and want to make sure that they won’t be a burden on their families in their later years and that their estate will smoothly transition to their loved ones after their lifetimes. Having an estate plan in place, that also focuses on long term care needs brings the residents of Rockville Centre, and their loved ones tremendous peace of mind.

How does an elder law attorney help?

When creating an estate plan, it is important to consider how best to protect both yourself and your loved ones while also fulfilling your estate planning objectives such as special bequests and contributions to charitable causes that are dear to you. At Esther Schwartz Zelmanovitz, PLLC, we will thoroughly evaluate your personal situation, including your family, the value of your estate, and your objectives, to strategize on the best plan for you as an individual.

Some of the issues that come up during our review include naming guardians for minor children, providing for your beneficiaries that may have special needs or are receiving government benefits, or caring for your pets after you can no longer give them the care they need. We would further consider the high cost of long term care and how that would be paid for in the event that is needed, as well as minimizing or even eliminating estate taxes.

Once we establish a plan that fits your particular needs, we will draft the appropriate documents required to fulfill your wishes, such as a last will and testament and living trusts. Each of our documents will reflect your particular situation and personal estate planning goals.

With advanced medicine and more education about keeping healthy, people are living longer. With increased life spans, having a good long term care plan in place is more important than ever. In 2020, the US Department of Health and Human Services predicted that 70% of people over the age of 65 years old should expect to use some form of long term care during their lifetime. Long term care can be very expensive with home health aides in the New York area costing more than $10,000 a month, and nursing home costs exceeding $15,000 a month.

While planning for the distribution of your assets for when you pass on, it would be wise to also give ample consideration to plan for the preservation of your assets so that there is actually something left to pass on.

At Esther Schwartz Zelmanovitz, PLLC, we work closely with our clients and their families to make sure that they understand their options when it comes to paying for long term care, and specifically, to protect their assets so that they can tap into available government programs to pay for their care should they need it now, or at some point in the future.

How is Medicaid eligibility determined?

One of the areas we assist our clients with is Medicaid eligibility for long term care. People often confuse their options for long term care coverage. Regular health insurance generally will not have long term care benefits. Further, while many senior citizens rely on their Medicare coverage for their health insurance, Medicare will generally not pay for long term care, other than in very limited circumstances. Medicaid, on the other hand, has a long term care program that will pay for a person’s long term care (whether it is home care aide services, assisted living, or nursing home care). In order to be eligible for Medicaid, unlike Medicare, Medicaid has strict income and asset guidelines. Because there is “lookback” when reviewing eligibility, meaning Medicaid will review if you are eligible not only currently, but confirm that you haven’t given away your money to become eligible, it is important to plan early, well before the need for care arises, so that you can have maximum preservation of your hard earned assets.

Medicaid planning involves strategies to qualify for government assistance to pay for long term care, while being able to preserve your home, investment accounts, and other hard earned assets. One popular technique used to preserve assets is to set up an irrevocable trust. If planning was not done early enough, and a person is already in a nursing home, there still may be exceptions to the transfer rules that can be utilized, or a complex strategy called a “promissory note/gift plan” can be utilized to preserve a significant portion of the nursing home resident’s assets.

The important guideline to understand is that every situation is unique. There is no one plan fits all. An experienced elder law attorney will be able to evaluate your situation and determine the best plan for you. An experienced and caring elder law attorney will not only recommend what is good for you currently, but will evaluate your situation in a broader sense and build in flexibility if your circumstances change in the future.

Contact a Rockville Centre Elder Law Attorney Today

Take the first step in setting up or updating your estate plan. It will give not only you, but your family tremendous peace of mind. Contact us today.