Cona Elder Law Partners with Long Island Cares, Inc-The Harry Chapin Food Bank on “Military Appreciation Tuesdays”

​August 2013

Law Firm Offers Veterans Free Help to Access Important VA Benefit   

As a result of an increased number of veterans returning to Long Island in need of many services including emergency food, Long Island Cares dedicates Tuesdays from noon – 4:00 P.M. as “Military Appreciation Tuesdays” to assist veterans, military personnel and their families at their three food pantries.

On the first Tuesday of each month from noon – 4 PM starting on September 3rd, an attorney at Cona Elder Law, a Melville based elder law and estate planning firm, will offer veterans and their spouses over age 65 free consultations at LI Cares to those who want to find out if they qualify for the little known but valuable “Aid and Attendance” benefit.  This benefit can help pay for the high costs of care at an assisted living facility or at home.

The consultations will take place at LI Cares, Hauppauge facility on the following dates:

–    September 3rd-    October 1st-    November 5th

Appointments are strongly recommended and can be made by contacting Michael Haynes at mhaynes@licares.org.

A majority of veterans don’t realize they may be eligible for pension benefits from the Veterans Administration like the “Aid and Attendance” benefit, a non-service connected benefit which few people know about.  The “Aid and Attendance” benefit may pay as much as $2,054 a month to a veteran and/or spouse who meets the medical and financial criteria.

The 2013 Aid and Attendance benefits are:

–  Veteran – $1,732/month-  Veteran and Spouse – $2,054/month-  Surviving Spouse – $1,113/month

“The key to accessing these benefits lies in completing the application correctly, which can be extremely lengthy and complex,” says Melissa Negrin-Wiener, Esq., partner at Cona Elder Law.   “So far we’ve completed over 250 applications with a 100% successful approval track record.  Partnering with LI Cares will help us continue to get the word out so we can assist others who have served our country.”

Proper estate planning may be necessary for the Veteran and/or spouse to qualify for Aid and Attendance benefits.  Cona Elder Law is proud to report that our attorneys are not only experienced Elder Law and Estate Planning attorneys, but are also accredited for the preparation, presentation and prosecution of claims for Veterans benefits before the Department of Veterans Affairs.

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.