If you go into a Nursing Home, Does the State Take your House?
Nursing home care can be necessary when a person who is medically fragile or has severe memory impairment, confusion & dementia is unable to be effectively cared for in a home care setting. It could be that the home has too many stairs, inaccessible bathrooms or other hazards. It could be that the patient needs higher skilled nursing attention. It could also be that there is no family...
Sometimes Social Security Benefits Can be Garnished
Are you a grandparent who lovingly agreed to co-sign your grandchild’s college loans? Do you have unpaid alimony obligations under an old court order? You may have been under the impression since you retired that “Social Security Benefits are secure against all creditors,” and that they cannot be attached to satisfy a judgment. This is certainly the general rule. 42 USC...
Medicaid Applications: Finish the Spend-down first
When a Medicaid application is denied due to “excess resources,” many procedural tangles can ensue. Individuals who require long-term care in nursing homes, assisted living or at home may apply for Medicaid when their countable available resources have been reduced to a low level, typically $2,000 for an unmarried person plus a protected share for their spouse. (Income is treated...
Long-Term Care: Family & Caregiver Teamwork is Vital
There may come a time when your beloved aged & infirm family member just cannot take care of their basic needs for daily living any more. They cannot get themselves safely in and out of bed or chair; cannot bathe themselves; are starting to trip and fall; need help getting to the bathroom; can no longer obtain and prepare food; or can no longer remember how to do basic things or how to ask...
Free swimming for seniors at Union County’s pools
The Union County NJ Department of Parks and Recreation operates public pools — Ulrich pool in Rahway and Wheeler Pool in Linden. Open recreational swimming is free for people with disabilities and senior citizens at both locations. As of now the hours for these free swims are: Ulrich Pool — Mondays from 6 to 8 PM July 7-August 25, and at Wheeler Pool — Wednesdays from noon...
Holocaust reparations bill pending in NJ Legislature
Reparations payments received by Holocaust survivors are exempt from consideration under the federal Medicaid and SSI laws. According to the SSI regulations at 20 CFR 416.1236 (a)(18) – “reparations are excluded” from the definitions of “resources.” The SSI POMS SI 01120.610 says that reparations are not includable as either resources or income. There is an...
NJ issues new Guardianship Judgment & Annual Report Form
The Supreme Court of New Jersey recently adopted a new standardized Judgment of Incapacity for Guardianship cases, to be used by the probate courts throughout the state. It’s called the Revised Model Judgment.
The Judgment is the final court order signed by the Judge which generally appoints the Guardian of Person and Property and places an array of obligations and limitations on the...
Family Caregiving is in the News
The subject of family caregiving for sick and elderly relatives has been in the news a lot lately. Many people need to modify their work schedules to provide transportation, prepare meals, give medicine or provide supervision for frail parents. One of the issues is the tremendous number of middle-aged women who leave their jobs to become full-time caregivers for aging parents. See...
Elder Law: Let’s Get Organized II
Click here to read Part I of this post now.
Every day, people conduct their lives using cash payments. They go to ATMs or they write checks to “cash” and get cash from a bank teller. They use cash for groceries, and to pay their gardeners, hairdressers, and snow shovelers. They hire people for home repairs big and small. They pay in cash for furniture or remodelling when the cash...
Improving the Lives of Elders, One Gesture at a Time
The NY Times reported, on 21 June 2014, about a gym being operated by Martin Luther King Addo, a bodybuilder and personal trainer who was raised in Ghana in West Africa. Mr. Addo opened his gym next to an apartment building in Manhattan and specially tailors much of his work to the residents in their 80’s or even 90’s or have disabilities, helping them to improve their walking,...