Elder Law News

Justice in Aging  is a national nonprofit agency which advocates for seniors and pursues litigation involving unlawful practices that affect large classes of the population who are aged or have disabilities. I have previously written about nursing home practices in this space and am glad to tell you that the 2015 updated guidebook  20 Common Nursing Home Problems and How to Resolve Them...

If you are the advocate for a loved one in a nursing home, whether that’s your spouse, parent or other person, you might encounter this problem. Your loved one suffers from dementia, confusion, and limited ability to express themselves in a coherent manner. You visit them frequently and you find that the staff are beginning to complain to you that they are developing “behavioral...

New Jersey enacted a statute in 1998 that enables banks to release certain information to law enforcement concerning their customers’ accounts when they suspect that the customer may be the victim of illegal schemes such as scams, fraud or elder abuse.  It was deemed important to provide immunity from liability for such a release, in cases where the information was relevant to actual or...

As discussed in previous posts, the beneficiary designation on an asset presumptively controls its disposition if the account-owner dies. Beneficiary designations are typically used on IRAs, 401Ks, annuities and life insurance policies, but sometimes people choose to place beneficiary designations on their bank accounts, CDs or brokerage accounts. Disputes may arise when the decedent’s...

Effective July 1, the State of New Jersey Division of Medical Assistance and health Services (DMAHS) has raised the Minimum Monthly Maintenance Allowance (MMMNA) for the spouse of a person who is on Medicaid. For residents of nursing homes, the general rule is that all of the resident’s income must be turned over to the facility as a cost-share, except for authorized deductions which...

A Special Needs Trust is a type of first-party trust that is often used to preserve a lump sum benefit for a low income disabled person under age 65, who needs the support of Medicaid and Supplemental Security income (SSI). Often one thinks of the these trusts in connection with someone who is on SSI because they are disabled and have not worked, such as a person with developmental...

“Cost basis” in its simplest sense is the amount you paid for an asset whose value changes over time. A dollar is a dollar, but a share of stock might be purchased for $19 and later be worth $5 or may be worth $100. When assets are bought and sold, there may be capital gains tax on the difference (gain) between the cost basis and the sale price, subject to various exclusions that...

Estate planning can be thought of as a life-long process. A young person may not have much in the way of worldly posessions, but may have particular opinions about who should make the medical and financial decisions for them if they become incapacitated. So a power of Attorney, health Care Directive and basic Will can be signed anytime starting at age 18. Later, you get into a relationship or...

If a disabled or elderly person receives Supplemental Security Income (SSI), there are income and resource restrictions as a condition for eligibility. When two SSI recipients are married, the monthly benefit is lower than it would be to two unmarried individuals.  Until the Defense of Marriage Act (D.O.M.A.) was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in U.S. v. Windsor in 2013, a same sex...

When a Complaint for Guardianship  is filed by anyone in New Jersey, the Court is required to appoint an attorney to represent the legal rights and preferences of the person who is alleged to be incapacitated and alleged to require a guardian. There is no legal presumption that just because the Complaint for Guardianship was filed, that the relief should be granted. Guardianship involves the...