28 JULY 14 - JULY 20, 2017 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP
Dance fl oor from "Saturday
Night Fever" auctioned o
The fl oor was originally installed
in 2001 Odyssey before
the production began
principal photography
in March. At the time,
cinematographer Ralf
Bode chose primary
colors to light up the
loor, set in rhythm
with the music.
The rest of the club was
kept as is, with only minor
changes to the lighting and
walls during fi lming that made the
club popular until its close in 2005.
Since then, the site was converted to a
mixed commercial/residential space.
In 2012, the fl oor was used in a tribute
episode of "Glee" called "Saturday
Night Glee-ver."
Largely responsible for the fl oor's
fame was the movie's star John Travolta.
The fabled
dance oor.
The then-23-year-old actor insisted
that the dance scenes be shown
A scene from “Saturday Night Fever.”
in wide, full-length shots in order to
reassure audience members that he
didn't have a double standing in for
him. When the movie premiered, the
fl oor was constantly featured during
the dance numbers.
Grossing $285 million, the 1977
THE ELDER LAW MINUTE TM
BY DANIELLE KOGAN
EDITORIALBROOKLYNREPORTER.COM
Stayin' alive over the last 40 years
is a remnant of a disco craze
you'd never expect — the dance
fl oor from "Saturday Night Fever,"
which was just sold at auction, with
the minimum bid set at a cool million.
Originally located in the 2001 Odyssey
dance club, at 802 64 Street, director
John Badham's custom $15,000
piece was sold on the second day of
Invaluable's Hollywood auction,
June 27.
The fl oor was auctioned o as constructed
for the fi lm, with 250 separate
light compartments with 15-watt carnival
incandescent bulbs. The fl oor is 24
feet wide, 16 feet deep, and eight inches
high. The 12 acrylic panels set into the
wooden frame matrix, worn from wear,
are four feet wide, eight feet deep, and
three-quarters of an inch high.
Several years ago, Mrs. Flower
entered a nursing home because
she could no longer care for herself
in the community. At the time, she
was in her early 90s and had basically
gone through most of her assets. The
nursing home administration applied
for Medicaid on her behalf in order to
cover the cost of her long term care.
It was a very straightforward case
because she was essentially eligible
for Medicaid from the get-go.
Medicaid is a means-tested program;
it will cover the cost of an
individual’s long term care provided
such person’s assets do not exceed a
certain amount. In 2017, one cannot
own more than $14,850 in non-exempt
assets.
What made this particular case
stand out is what ensued a er Mrs.
Flower’s admission. Several months
later, she scheduled a doctor’s appointment
to address some pain in
her wrist. Her family arranged for a
taxi to transport Mrs. Flower to the
doctor. On her way to the appointment,
another car rammed into the
taxi causing serious injuries to Mrs.
Flower.
She was hospitalized for several
months with broken ribs, and eventually
returned to the same nursing
home for rehabilitation and continued
custodial care. Mrs. Flower’s
children initiated a lawsuit against
the other driver due to the extreme
pain and emotional distress that their
mother endured. Ultimately, the case
was settled and the driver agreed to
pay Mrs. Flower $500,000.
While many might think that
personal injury law has virtually
nothing to do with elder law, the
above scenario is a good illustration
of why the two areas are sometimes
connected. The problem with Mrs.
Flower receiving the $500,000 settlement
is that she would no longer
be eligible for Medicaid. Further, if
all the proceeds from the settlement
would ultimately be applied towards
Mrs. Flower’s nursing care, what was
the point of bringing a lawsuit?
In such a situation, an elder law
attorney can do planning to preserve
potentially half of the individual’s
assets. Through a strategy that is
o en referred to as a gi /promissory
note plan, a signifi cant portion of the
proceeds can be salvaged.
There are other issues that must
be addressed in a personal injury
action. Typically, when the injured
individual is permanently disabled,
a certain portion of the settlement
funds will have to be allocated to
Medicare.
Over the course of the person’s life,
Medicare will have to lay out funds
directly attributable to the medical
care required for the personal injury.
Accordingly, an elder law attorney
will be able to determine if Medicare
has a valid lien against any of the
proceeds and whether a Medicare
set aside is necessary.
If an individual is under the age of
65 and will require nursing care as a
result of a personal injury, a trust can
be utilized to protect the proceeds
from the settlement. If the funds
are transferred to a special needs
trust, the individual can remain on
Medicaid without any penalty or
interruption of services.
A special needs trust will essentially
provide for all of the “extras”
for that individual. The trustee of
the trust cannot use the funds to pay
for any medical expenses, but he/she
can use the trust funds for anything
else that personally beneits the
Photos courtesy of Invaluable
ilm propelled Travolta to a Best
Actor Oscar nomination and made
him a star of the silver screen. More
recently, Travolta has been seen
fi lming "The Life and Death of John
Gotti," back in Brooklyn where it all
began 40 years ago.
disabled individual.
Sometimes, an injury is so severe
that it results in the incapacity of
the injured party. In such a case, a
guardianship proceeding may also
be in order. A guardianship allows
another person to step in and manage
the personal and fi nancial a airs of
the alleged incapacitated person
(“AIP”). The attorney handling the
guardianship must be familiar with
Medicaid planning and other entitlements
that the AIP might need.
Based on the above discussion, it
is clear that an elder law attorney
should be consulted at some point in
a personal injury action in order for
the settlement properly to address all
the needs of the injured party.
Ronald A. Fatoullah, Esq. is the principal
of Ronald Fatoullah & Associates, a law
rm that concentrates in elder law, estate
planning, Medicaid planning, guardianships,
estate administration, trusts, wills
and real estate. Debby Rosenfeld, Esq. is a
senior sta attorney at the rm. The law
rm can be reached at 718-261-1700, 516-
466-4422, or toll free at 1-877-ELDER-LAW
or 1-877-ESTATES. Mr. Fatoullah is also
a partner with Advice Period, a wealth
management rm, and he can be reached
at 424-256-7273.
BY RONALD A. FATOULLAH, ESQ. & DEBBY ROSENFELD, ESQ.
Elder law and personal injury actions