Cona Elder Law Continues to Assist and Educate New York’s Most Vulnerable amid Global Pandemic

Melville, NY, July 2, 2020 – The COVID-19 pandemic turned the world’s attention to the most vulnerable segment of our population: our seniors. As always, Cona Elder Law was committed and laser focused on providing information, education and assistance to families struggling with both the illness and the passing of their loved ones. “We are grateful for the opportunity to help New York’s most vulnerable and their families during these uncertain times by assisting them with estate and Medicaid planning” said Partner Melissa Negrin-Wiener. When a crisis hits, having essential planning documents in place can ease the burden on your loved ones and allow them to make decisions on your behalf if you are unable to do so. Cona Elder Law implemented multiple online tools for clients to utilize while working from home and remained active to make sure the public was educated on the changing laws.

First the firm launched their virtual Learning Center, allowing easy access through their website, conaelderlaw.com, to a variety of topics such as Medicaid planning, asset protection, estate planning, the probate process and more. The Learning Center includes short, easy to understand videos as well as links to their Podcast, “Elder Law Matters.” And on April 28^th, Cona Elder Law hosted a free Elder Law Hotline focused on the upcoming changes to Medicaid Home Care benefits. Although in the midst of a global crisis, the firm ensured that “our seniors and their families had access to our attorneys to answer any and all questions regarding the Medicaid changes and so much more” explains Ms. Negrin-Wiener, “People have so many questions and there is so much misinformation out there. We’re using this year to educate the public and answer all of their elder law and estate planning questions.”

Since mid-March, when our world was turned upside down, Cona Elder Law disseminated a steady stream of information through weekly webinars regarding essential estate planning and estate administration in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. The firm covered a multitude of topics including Medicaid Planning, Special Needs Planning and Estate Administration Nightmares as well as How Senior Living Facilities are Protecting our Seniors. Working from home was the ammunition needed for virtual attendance to skyrocket, and the firm was able to assist with personal situations and time sensitive questions that needed legitimate answers.

In order to further assist families, the Cona Elder Law Document Vault was put into place and has proved to be more important than ever during the pandemic. This online document vault holds the important estate planning documents signed by their clients, such as Wills, Powers of Attorney, Health Care Proxies, Living Wills, and Trusts and allows authorized individuals access to these documents via the Internet, wherever and whenever they need them. It has been important for loved ones to access these documents, especially the Health Care Proxy, over these last few months when information about an ailing loved one in a facility was only available by phone. Clients could access these crucial documents on their cellphone right at home if needed, without anything more than an internet connection.

Lastly, when the New York State Unified Court System announced a partnership with the New York State Bar Association to coordinate a Surrogate’s Court pro bono effort in which volunteer lawyers assist economically disadvantaged family members who lost loved ones as a result of COVID-19 Cona Elder Law attorneys proudly volunteered and fully supported their mission. Their attorneys are available to assist New Yorkers with probate matters, and are committed to ensuring these matters are handled with special care and are resolved as efficiently as possible. Although the firm was not on the healthcare front lines, they certainly were on the front lines of legal issues and Cona Elder Law kept going even when the world had stopped.

As the pandemic abates here on Long Island, Cona Elder Law has opened their office and have implemented office policies and practices recommended by the CDC to minimize any risk of infection and to keep employees, clients, and guests safe and comfortable. Of course visiting the office remains optional as they continue to provide virtual client services if preferred. The experienced attorneys at Cona Elder Law are available to help you and your family accomplish your planning goals, whether in person or online.

###

Based in Melville, NY, Cona Elder Law is a well-respected law firm concentrating in the areas of elder law, estate planning, estate administration and litigation.  Cona Elder Law takes a holistic approach to elder law, providing support and resources for seniors and caregivers, and maintains long-term, partnering relationships with clients to provide the best solutions for multiple generations.  The firm was ranked the #1 Elder Law Firm by Long Island Business News for eight consecutive years, was honored as “A Firm That Makes a Difference” by the Hauppauge Industrial Association (HIA-LI), and received the 2018 HIA-LI Business Achievement Award. For additional information, visit www.conaelderlaw.com.