Brokerage found not liable to non-customer in joint account dispute
The owner of a financial account may choose from a variety of designations and forms of ownership for the account. It may be solely-owned; it may be jointly owned with right of survivorship but no independent access during lifetime; it may be “either-or,” it may be “pay on death to …,” it may be “in trust for …” Each of these carries very different legal...
Section 121 exclusion of capital gains available if nursing home resident resided in home 1 of last 5 years
Sale or transfer of a primary residence is often a major consideration in elder care planning. Property may be transferred from an infirm spouse to the “healthy spouse.” Property may be sold because the homeowner has to move into a nursing home or other care facility. Property may be transferred to the “caregiver child” in connection with a Medicaid application. A...
Elder penalized for wages paid to family caregiver, due to insufficient evidence
When a person applies for Medicaid to pay for home care or nursing home care, a penalty will be imposed if assets were given away during the preceding five year “look-back” period. There are numerous regulations in federal and state law concerning “uncompensated transfers,” which are gifts. A “gift” is distinguished by law from a “payment for goods...
Don’t be the Executor if you can’t do the Job
When you create an estate plan, you are selecting people whom you trust to perform various jobs for you and your beneficiaries. You may be selecting an agent to act as your Power of Attorney. You may select a medical decision-maker in case you become mentally incapacitated. You may have a Trust and select the Trustee who will manage the money for the beneficiaries. And you may be selecting an...
Will Medicare ever pay for nursing home care?
Consumers of health care in old age likely consider nursing home care to be part of the continuum of health care that a patient may require. Yet health insurance plans do not pay for nursing home care because it isn’t defined as “treatment.” Instead, it is classified as long-term care rather than “health care,” because the care is maintaining the individual and...
Great Reasons to Update your Will Once in a While
The years really fly by. I can’t tell you how many times some one has come in to meet with me who signed a Will 25 years before and never updated it. When major changes occur in your life, it’s important to see your lawyer for a “check up” to make sure that your old Plan is still a good Plan for you. Here are samples of situations I have encountered, which required an...
Medicaid Applicant is Entitled to Actual Notice of Deficiencies of Application
As my readers know by now, a Medicaid application is comprised of five years’ of financial records for every single asset and transaction that occurred during the 5-year “look-back” period preceding the application, along with a host of “personal identifiers” and proofs pertaining to income, marital status, legal residency, birthdate and more. If an application is...
Court upholds Revocation of CNA Certification for tying nursing home resident’s wheelchair to handrail
A Certified Nurses’ Aide who worked in a New Jersey nursing home has lost her Certification for tying a resident’s wheelchair to the hallway handrail, causing agitation, distress and confinement of the resident. The act was found to constitute abuse & neglect, and this finding has been placed next to her name on the New Jersey Nurse Aide Registry.
An administrative hearing was...
New Jersey Now Has Its Own ABLE Program
ABLE accounts are accounts created under Section 529A of the Internal Revenue Code with State counterparts, designed for people who became disabled before the age of 26. Finally, New Jersey has adopted its Plan.
A disabled person or their POA or guardian can use the account for any expenses that are incurred as a result of living with a disability and are intended to improve the disabled...
New guide available for appeals of Medicaid Managed Care Decisions
Medicaid services are now provided through managed care organizations (MCO’s), which are required by federal law to provide a grievance and appeal process for the enrollees. An enrollee may be dissatisfied with the number of hours of service, or the services being provided, or a host of other issues. Three major nonprofits have collaborated on a new guide for advocates to help them in...