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Law Firm Offers Veterans Free Help to Access VA Benefit
As a result of an increase in the number of veterans returning to Long Island in need of services including emergency food, Long Island Cares will dedicate every Tuesday afternoon from 12:00-4:00 P.M. as “Military Appreciation Tuesdays” to specifically assist veterans, military personnel and their families at the Hauppauge and Freeport emergency pantries.
Cona Elder Law, a Melville based elder law and estate planning firm, will team up with Long Island Cares on July 19, 2011 in their Hauppauge based facility from 2 – 4 PM to offer veterans and their spouses over age 65 free on site assistance to Veterans in need of the “Aid and Attendance” benefit. This invaluable benefit can help pay for the high costs of care at an assisted living facility or at home.
Appointments are strongly recommended and can be made by contacting jrosati@licares.org.
A majority of veterans, who may have only served for one day during war time, don’t realize they may be eligible for certain pension benefits from the Veterans Administration. The “Aid and Attendance” benefit may pay as much as $ 1,949 a month to a veteran who meets the medical and financial criteria.
“The key to accessing these benefits lies in the application, which can be extremely lengthy and complex,” says Jennifer B. Cona, elder law attorney and managing partner of Cona Elder Law, a Melville, LI based elder law and estate planning firm. “So far we’ve completed 120 applications in the past two years, and are pleased to partner with Long Island Cares so we can continue to get the word out and assist others who have served our country.”
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.
Since 2009, Long Island Cares, Inc. The Harry Chapin Food Bank has been providing coordinated outreach to hundreds of veterans, military personnel and their families in an effort to provide emergency food and community support services to those in need. With two community-based emergency pantries and two mobile outreach units, Long Island Cares is providing support services and food to a growing number of disabled veterans, those returning from service in the Middle East, homeless veterans, and their families. Long Island Cares has been working closely with both Nassau and Suffolk Veteran Services Offices, local veterans’ organizations and members of Congress and local legislators to reach out to veteran populations.
