Elder Law

A few months ago I was able to do something a little different for an Elder Law attorney. I got to put through an Adult Adoption of an individual who essentially was a “child” to a couple but was not officially so. Doing this had some very strong upside for the couple’s estate planning in light of New Jersey’s Inheritance...

Applicants for MLTSS/Medicaid need to be clinically eligible as well as financially eligible in order to receive payment for services. Financial eligibility is within the applicant’s control — usually — but to get the proof of clinical eligibility that’s required by the program, a “Pre-Admission Screening” or...

“Aging in place” is what most people want. Remaining in the community is a high priority goal for most elders. The challenge is that there might be many needs to be met to achieve this goal. Parents and children need to talk to each other about aging-related issues so that the parents can gracefully and securely remain at home. Here...

The signing of a Trust document is the start of a new process. A Trust isn’t just a “form.” It’s a legal structure with real consequences that has to be handled carefully in order to assure that the trust creator’s purposes can be achieved. If the Trustee uses the Trust’s funds in ways that aren’t...

A “disclaimer” is a legal document which is signed by somebody before they receive property to which they are entitled from an estate or trust. There are many situations in which a person is about to inherit money but doesn’t want to receive it for some reason, or wants it to go to somebody else. Let’s see what can happen...

If  a child who lives in your home with you is helping you with your ADL’s (functional activities of daily living), it’s probably a good idea to start documenting all of the things they do for you. Long-range planning for long-term care often includes the potential use of long-term care insurance benefits or Medicaid benefits to pay...

get organized in case there’s an emergency

This post is about “Medicaid caregiver child house transfers,” as they are commonly known. Readers of this blog know that when a person applies for long-term care benefits under the MLTSS Medicaid program, they will generally be denied benefits for a period of time if they transferred (gifted) assets during the 5-year look-back...

When an individual who lives in a skilled nursing facility (SNF) is approved for Medicaid, a “Medicaid number” is assigned to that individual. This is the number that will be used for billing purposes by the nursing home, the pharmacy, the hospital, and other health care providers. The MLTSS Medicaid program pays for the skilled nursing facility at a specific daily rate as long...

The surviving spouse of a Social Security recipient is entitled to a “bump up” in their benefits if the deceased spouse received a higher monthly benefit than the survivor was receiving. Typically, the funeral director notifies the Social Security Administration about the death. Don’t assume that this notification suffices to preserve eligiblity for the widow’s benefit....