Elder Law

So, you’ve been named as someone’s attorney-in-fact (“Agent”)… now what? To make a long answer short- it depends.   The first question any Agent must ask herself is whether the Power of Attorney document (“POA”) grants her the authority to act on the Principal’s behalf immediately (known as a durable power of attorney), or if the Power of Attorney only comes into effect upon a...

When you sign a Power of Attorney, the person you name to be your “attorney-in-fact” or “agent” is entrusted with certain legal obligations known as fiduciary duties to you. This is known as the Principal-Agent relationship.

A guardianship action is a court case that is filed to ask a Judge to appoint a Guardian for an incapacitated adult. The court rules are specific about all of the procedures that must be followed when filing this kind of case. It is filed by an interested party in the Superior Court of the County where the alleged incapacitated person resides. Usually, the person who wants to be the Guardian...

If you are in a non-traditional relationship — i.e., the unmarried couple living together for years, whether gay, straight or anyone in between — don’t you want to be the one who decides who takes care of you or manages your decisions if some catastrophe occurs? Of course you do. But if you don’t set up a plan, and you just “leave it up to the law,” the exact opposite of your...

On March 3, 2021, Governor Murphy signed into law the LGBTQI+ Senior Bill of Rights, a sweeping civil rights law aimed at protecting New Jersey’s LGBTQI+ seniors living or thinking about moving into one of New Jersey’s 360+ long-term care facilities.

The Biden-Harris administration has just announced that they are creating a new open enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act. This will  be for three months to start February 15th. The announcement is exciting. There are still way too many American going without medical insurance. Here’s the press release.   The online portal to find...

The covid-19 pandemic has produced many new occupational categories. One of them is the “virtual visitation coordinator,” a role that’s encouraged for  New Jersey’s nursing homes. Executive Order 20-026 in Section I.7iv (at pages 4-5) describes the function and responsibilities of this person. Of course, this role may...

Governor Murphy’s Executive Order No. 20-026 contains the rules for visitation in skilled nursing facilities, among other issues. Section III(4)(c)(3) provides in-person visitation opportunity for people who are deemed to be “essential caregivers.” What’s that all about? An “essential caregiver” is ” an individual who was previously...

You may not be aware of it, but the State of New Jersey has an “information hub” pertaining to Covid-19 issues. You can sign up to be on its email list so that you receive regular updates. If you go to the hub site and scroll down on the home page you’ll find the sign-up box.  For those who are watching over the care of loved...

Since early in the pandemic there have been strict rules that bar in-person visits within nursing care facilities. A client spoke with me recently asking about the parameters for the end-of-life exception to the restrictive policy.  The State has adopted a policy, but each facility sets the hours and procedures. Facilities are classified according to their “outbreak status,” which...