As the share of the Land O’Lakes population over 60 grows dramatically, elder law attorney Myrna Setty is stepping up to help improve access to Medicaid and prevent elder abuse.
The tranquil waters of Florida’s Land O’Lakes have always been a restful place for the weary to find peace and tranquility. As Pasco County has grown dramatically in the last ten years, our quiet, spread-out communities have been attracting an aging population and demographic.
At the same time, rising healthcare costs and the growing threat of online scams present very real financial (and physical) dangers for our most vulnerable. Fortunately, there are those like elder law attorney Myrna Setty who are helping to protect the area’s elders and their futures.
With offices located just over I-75 on the south side of Wesley Chapel (and in Tampa), attorney Myrna Serrano Setty is an estate planning and elder care lawyer whose work centers around helping Pasco County residents age gracefully and safely. A challenge that is becoming increasingly important as the Land O’Lakes population’s average age climbs yearly.
We all get older year after year, but if you have stepped foot in Hungry Harry’s lately, you might have noticed that the Land O’Lakes population seems to be greying faster and faster. And you wouldn’t be wrong.
Demographically, like the rest of Pasco County, the area’s population has been rising steadily on the shores of our many lakes. But our share of older residents is climbing even faster. From just 2010 to 2020, the share of households with at least one member over 60 nearly doubled to over 42%. And now, just under 1 in 10 homes consists of a single elder living alone. Chances are, if you are not one yourself, one of your neighbors is.
While some of this rise can be accounted for by the natural aging of our population, retirees also make up a decent portion of the influx, attracted to the comfortable lifestyle in the greater Tampa area. Now, from Ehren to Ballantrae, the quiet suburb once known (as some local elders may still remember) as a popular nudist hub, is now decidedly a safe and secure suburb.
But not necessarily as safe for that growing share of older residents.
While alligators still feature prominently as a natural hazard in the Land O’Lakes, they are only the most obvious threat, and residents usually know how to handle them. The problems we are delving into today are the ones that sneak up on you and that pose a particular threat to the eldest among us.
Throughout Florida and the rest of the county, the price of all kinds of healthcare has been rising. The problem is especially dire for the elderly, who are living longer and longer, often on dwindling retirement benefits and limited resources. If you have to put yourself or a family member through any sort of assisted living, home care, or nursing home, you will soon discover the prohibitive costs involved.
Tragically, these expenses can all too quickly siphon away even a lifetime of savings. This can leave elders with nothing, or less, and nothing left of their accumulated wealth to pass on to the next generation. This is not just bad for them but for all efforts to build generational wealth and improve the living and working conditions for all.
Luckily, even such a huge and insurmountable problem has some solutions if you start working on them early enough. Notably with attorneys like Myrna Setty, who help Pasco County elders with Medicaid planning, allowing them to access long-term care coverage benefits even if they normally would not qualify because of too high income or wealth.
These obvious costs are just the tip of the iceberg of problems some Land O’Lakes elders’ lives have run into. From online buyers blocking vulnerable elders into exploitative contracts to overworked nursing care staffers badly neglecting the elders under their care, it is all too easy for elders to fall victim to a growing category of harm.
Worse still, sometimes the perpetrators can be your own family members if you have chosen, like so many in Land O’Lakes, to entrust your financial assets or physical self into their care. If those assets and wealth start disappearing or go into suspicious conservatorships or expenses, it is possible their offer to help lighten your burdens was more likely an offer to pilfer your savings.
In either case, the crime is no less severe; both are examples of elder abuse in action. Fortunately, both can be made more difficult with the careful application of legal protections, including several estate planning measures, such as trusts, that attorney Myrna Setty experienced in. By shielding your remaining assets and helping you go to court to retrieve any losses lost due to the negligence of those who were supposed to care for you, an attorney can help you get both justice and the resources you need.
The Law Firm Of Myrna Serrano Setty P.A. | Providing Land O’Lakes elder law services with care and compassion.
If you are worried about your future or have an older relative in your life who you care about, it is time to think about reaching out to an elder law attorney. We know that isn’t easy, and we know how stressful this time can be, but here at the Law Firm Of Myrna Serrano Setty, P.A. we turn that awareness into a level of individualized care, compassionate counsel and proactive planning to help you age in financial security, without compromising the legacy you wish to leave behind.
To learn more about what kinds of elder law care we offer or to get started on your Medicaid planning or elder abuse litigation, call our office now at (813) 686-7175 or schedule a free meeting online.
(By Appointment Only)
2236 Ashley Oaks Circle
Suite 102,
Wesley Chapel, FL 33544
Phone: (813) 686-7175
Business Hours are 9:00AM to 4:00PM