What’s the Difference between an Assisted Living Facility and a Nursing Home?
An Assisted Living residence (“ALF”) is a facility which is licensed by the Department of Health and Senior Services, and subject to the regulations in N.J.A.C. 8:36, to provide apartment-style housing and congregate dining and to assure that assisted living services are available when needed, to four or more adult persons unrelated to the proprietor. Apartment units offer, at a...
Caution! Watch Out for “Responsible Party” and “Guarantee” Clauses in Nursing Home Contracts
When an individual moves into a nursing home for long-term care, there are an array of admissions documents that get signed. These include everything from personal preferences information to insurance and financial disclosures, medical releases, selection of physicians etc. One of these documents contains the contract for payment for the services being rendered.
Typically, the contract...
Transfer Penalty Traps and NJ Medicaid Applications
Medicaid Long-Term Services and Supports (MLTSS) is the government program that pays for nursing home care and long-term care in other settings for people who meet the stringent financial requirements. The application is filed once the non-excluded resources (assets) are below the specified levels. Along with the application form itself, the applicant must supply numerous documents as proof...
The 2022 “Medicaid Numbers” you need to know in New Jersey
The NJ Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services (DMAHS) has released Medicaid Communication #22-01 which provides the new numbers that are relevant to applications for Medicaid Long Term Services and Supports (MLTSS) benefits. 22-01_Income_and_Resource_Standards_for_Medicaid_Only (1) MLTSS pays for nursing home care (skilled nursing facilities), Assisted Living Facilities and...
Avoiding the Risk of Medicaid Liens
Individuals who receive Medicaid to pay for nursing home care, assisted living or in-home care must meet stringent financial requirements. The non-excluded or inaccessible resources cannot exceed $2,000 at the time of application, and as of the first day of each successive calendar month, must be below that limit in order to maintain eligibility. What resources are “excluded” or...
“Have you Talked to an Elder Law Attorney yet?”
The world can feel like a confusing, tangled mess when a loved one has dementia and needs to be discharged from a hospital with a major care plan in place. There are so many options, and hospital staff are in a huge hurry the minute the doctor signs the order clearing the patient for discharge. Staff speak in “shorthand,” using code words or acronyms that the patient’s family may not...
Spring Cleaning Time
IT’S SPRING CLEANING TIME! DUST OFF YOUR OLD ESTATE PLAN
Spring time is when people often take a look around and start freshening things up. Home repairs, paint jobs, new furniture, new clothes, maybe a different haircut…… there’s something about seeing the new buds on trees and the blooming daffodils that gets us thinking this way.
It’s the perfect time to pull out your old estate plan...
Ershow-Levenberg Joins Union County Advisory Board on the Disabled
Did you know that Union County has an Advisory Board on the Disabled that advises County government on issues related to people with disabilities? The Board has eleven members, and Linda Ershow-Levenberg has just been appointed to the Board. Members who receive information from the public about disability-related challenges will present the information to the County Commissioners for...
A Guardianship doesn’t have to go on forever
A Guardian of the Person or Guardian of the Estate is appointed by a Court in a situation where an individual is found to be presently “incapacitated” and unable to manage their affairs regarding financial, residential, medical, occupational and other major decisions. If the individual previously signed a durable general power of attorney or medical power of attorney, there...
Do you know where your Estate Plan is?
The building blocks of an estate plan are the Last Will & Testament, financial power of attorney, medical power of attorney, and various kinds of Trusts. Based on a client’s instructions, the attorney typically creates drafts for the client’s review and approval. Once the client and attorney are in sync about all of the provisions...