Governor Murphy Signs “LGBTQI+ Senior Bill of Rights” into Law
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.
Ideas to help your parents age safely at home
“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...
The Trust Document is Signed — Now what?
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...
What Does it Mean to Disclaim an inheritance?
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....
Health Care Proxies and Advance Directives help Doctors in critical care of patients
The New Jersey Department of Health issued a comprehensive statement concerning triage and the care of COVID-19 patients in different kinds of licensed health care facilities. This is one among many directives issued in the past six weeks. Read the directive here: FinalAllocationPolicy4.11.20v2
As the patient is being treated, many decisions need to be made along the way, often in rapid-fire...
Special Needs Trusts continue to be Vital for People with Disabilities
The term “special needs trust” is used to refer to a trust that’s for benefit of a person with disabilities who depends on means-tested public benefits that have income limits or resource/asset limits. Sometimes these are “first party trusts” — created by the disabled person (over age 18) or his parent, grandparent, or guardian with court permission, or by a...
What do you Do if You Can’t find the Will?
What do you do if you can’t find the Will? Your loved one has passed away, you have pulled yourself through the mourning period, and now you are ready to tackle the estate. You remember that your loved one had a Will — maybe they kept mentioning it, or maybe you knew that they had signed it at their lawyer’s office at some point. You remember that they had told you they were...
Breaking News: Bill signed to allow remote notarizing using audio-visual technology
These trying times have spurred New Jersey to venture into new ways to get things done. The lock-down has made it difficult for individuals in hospitals or nursing facilities, or people quarantined in their homes due to recent exposure to COVID-19 — as well as many others — to get documents notarized. Along with Powers of Attorney, Deeds, new investment account paperwork, insurance...
Estate Administration: Probate is the first Step When there is a Will
A Last Will and Testament designates an Executor who has legal authority to handle the estate assets. The Will also specifies who receives what, and in what way; the language of the Will specifies if the share is to be put in a Trust or is to pass outright, and who will receive the share if the named beneficiary has died. If assets are jointly owned or if they have named beneficiaries, they...