631.405.4857 
November 2013
When an aging parent needs care, the adult child is often overwhelmed and does not know where to turn for information on health care options, financing, support and resources. In most cases, the adult child is working and therefore struggles to balance work/life obligations.
At the 18th annual Work/Life Conference hosted by the National Association of Mother’s Centers (NAMC) on Long Island, Melissa Negrin-Wiener, Esq., partner at the elder law firm Cona Elder Law, Melville, addressed about 50 elder caregivers, many who are in the sandwich generation caring for their own children as well as their aging parents.
Ms. Negrin-Wiener discussed such topics as: tools to protect the assets of the elderly, including trusts and promissory notes; Medicaid eligibility, including income vs. assets, home care vs. nursing home regulations; look back periods vs. penalty periods; and much more.
“Because of the financial, legal and health complexities in elder care situations, the attendees had a host of questions and many times misconceptions,” said Melissa. Attendees wanted to know about such matters as transferring money to children to qualify for Medicaid; what happens to a trust when the person dies or moves out of state; how to protect the homestead; what is spousal refusal and how does it work, etc.
As a sponsor of this event held at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury, Cona Elder Law recognizes the importance of educating both Human Resources professionals and working caregivers about elder care. “Studies show that more than one third of the caregiving adults either leave the workforce or reduce their hours,” says Jennifer Cona, Esq., managing partner, Cona Elder Law. Elder caregiving costs employers $ 33.6 billion annually in lost productivity and absenteeism costs the U.S. economy an estimated $ 25.2 billion in lost productivity.
Cona Elder Law is recognized as a leading elder law and estate planning firm on Long Island. The firm was ranked the #1 Elder Law firm by Long Island Business News in 2012 and 2013. The firm provides creative advocacy and cutting edge planning strategies and has been featured in many publications including: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Newsday, L.I. Business News, Kiplinger’s, Reader's Digest and many others. Cona Elder Law attorneys are frequent contributors to Newsday’s Act II “Ask the Expert” column and have appeared as guests on WNBC-TV, CNN-fn, News 12, News 55, Channel 21 "Act II With Newsday" and many radio stations including WOR, WCBS AM and WFAN.
