Elder Law

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...

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...