Cona Elder Law Addresses Long Island Veterans and Their Families About Eligibility for Special Veterans Benefits

91 Year Old WWII Veteran Honored for His Service

Community members and residents at The Bristal Assisted Living in Westbury, LI held up photographs of their husbands who served our country during the Veterans event on November 9th developed by Cona Elder Law, elder law and estate planning firm based in Melville. 

In recognition of Veterans Day, Cona Elder Law brought information and inspiration to former Veterans and their spouses at a program focusing on ex-service member’s needs and benefits.  The firm paid special tribute to 91 year old Irwin “Rusty” Lyons, a former U.S. Air Force Lieutenant and resident of The Bristal.  

Cona Elder Law invited several organizations and speakers to participate in the program and discuss the important but little known Aid and Attendance benefit, the Wounded Warriors Project, Homeless Veterans Program, Vietnam Wall, and LIAF’s Long Island Memory Center. 

Cona Elder Law was acknowledged for their pro bono work on behalf of Veterans by Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy and Town of Huntington Supervisor Frank Petrone with proclamations.
For more than three years, Cona Elder Law has offered pro bono services to help over 150 Veterans obtain the Aid and Attendance benefit allowing Veterans and spouses to be cared for either in their own home or at an assisted living facility.  This benefit has given Mr. Lyons the ability to reside at The Bristal for the past five years and get the help he needs.

In addition to Mr. Lyons, Cona Elder Law recognized William Rodriguez of the Suffolk County Veterans Services Agency in Riverhead with a plaque for helping LI Veterans obtain the valuable Aid and Attendance benefit.  “It gives me great satisfaction to contribute to the wellbeing of our Veterans,” said Mr. Rodriguez.

Cona Elder Law also honored Jonathan Spier, Interim Executive Director of LI State Veterans Home at Stony Brook University, a 350-bed skilled nursing home and adult day care center. “Jonathan has been responsible for coordinating a myriad of activities, programs and trips for the residents that have enabled our aging Veterans to still feel a part of their community,” says Melissa Negrin-Wiener, Esq., partner, Cona Elder Law.

Other speakers included:
 

• William Dowling, of I.J. Morris and Dignity Memorials, who discussed the Homeless Vets Program that buried 20 Veterans at Calverton National Cemetery
• Christopher McNamara, a Veteran in Desert Storm and participant in the Wounded Warriors Project and president of Mac Abstract in Huntington;
• Joyce Schneider, Outreach Coordinator, LIAF who discussed the Long Island Memory Center

There are over 200,000 Veterans on LI and one million in New York State.

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Cona Elder Law is recognized as a leading elder law and estate planning firm on Long Island.  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.