Federal Court Rules that Married Same-Sex Widows are Entitled to Social Security Survivor Benefits
Despite the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States on June 26, 2015, the effects of longstanding discrimination against the gay and lesbian community continue to linger at both the state and federal level. Many states legalized same-sex marriage prior to June 26, 2015, Arizona being one of...
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.
Legal Advice can Save you a Lot with a Medicaid Application
Nursing home residents are entitled to hire their own attorneys for legal advice about Medicaid applications (or any other matter). Here’s what can happen, though. The admissions department or business office of a nursing home frequently steers a new resident to a non-attorney Medicaid application preparation person or company, without disclosing the business relationship between the...
Tell All of Your Friends — Open Enrollment Under the Affordable Care Act Starts February 15th!
The Biden-Harris administration has just announced that they are creating a new open enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act. This will be for three months to start February 15th. The announcement is exciting. There are still way too many American going without medical insurance. Here’s the press...
2021 Numbers are Out for New Jersey Medicaid/MLTSS
Some 2021 numbers are now published for New Jersey Medicaid’s MLTSS program. These apply to people who are applying for benefits under the MLTSS/ Medicaid program for long-term care services. These numbers relate to the resource limit for a married applicant and spouse, the income “cap” that...
Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda
How often do we put off taking care of something that we know we should do? Would, coulda, shoulda! That’s a sad conclusion!
There can come a time that a person no longer has the options he had at an earlier time. In some circumstances, statutes of limitations will cut off the ability to pursue a remedy....
Get a check-up for your estate plan from time to time
A colleague just told me about this situation. It’s a perfect example of why you should see a lawyer to check-up your estate plan from time to time.
Decedent’s Last Will and Testament appointed 3 executors, all of whom predeceased her. The estate’s attorney helped the decedent’s grandchild file...
What’s a Virtual Visitation Coordinator?
The covid-19 pandemic has produced many new occupational categories. One of them is the “virtual visitation coordinator,” a role that’s encouraged for New Jersey’s nursing homes. Executive Order 20-026 in Section I.7iv (at pages 4-5) describes the function and responsibilities of this...
In-Person Visitation in Nursing Facilities available to Essential Caregivers
Governor Murphy’s Executive Order No. 20-026 contains the rules for visitation in skilled nursing facilities, among other issues. Section III(4)(c)(3) provides in-person visitation opportunity for people who are deemed to be “essential caregivers.” What’s that all about?
An “essential caregiver” is ” an individual who was previously activelyengaged...
NJ Covid-19 Information Hub — sign up for emails
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...