guardianship Tag

Could this be you? You’re in your thirties or forties, with several active children and a busy social and business life. You’ve got volunteer activities and school programs to keep track of. Your parents are in their seventies or eighties, have their own home, and appear to pay all their bills when due. You have no idea what your parents’ income or assets are because they don’t want to bother...

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...

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...

If you are in a non-traditional relationship — i.e., the unmarried couple living together for years, whether gay, straight or anyone in between — don’t you want to be the one who decides who takes care of you or manages your decisions if some catastrophe occurs? Of course you do. But if you don’t set up a plan, and you just “leave it up to the law,” the exact opposite of your...

Much of our work in the area of guardianships, probate and estate administration involves our County Surrogates.  As we continue to adjust to working with COVID-19, be aware that each Surrogate Office is adjusting their hours and policies to deal with the pandemic. The overview of changed hours and policies in each county can be found here.  In Union County, the new hours are Mon. & Thurs....

  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...

The entry of a Judgment appointing a legal Guardian for an incapacitated person may be the end of the court process, but it marks the start of a new process in which the Guardian has many obligations and responsibilities. After all, the Guardian’s primary obligation is to protect the personal and financial interests of the ward. One of these responsibilities is to “let the world...

Today I had the great fortune to participate in a case in which a person who has been under guardianship for six years had their capacity restored in full.  This kind of situation doesn’t often happen, but it’s really fabulous. This case started in 2010 when the parent and sibling came to me in an emergency to report that their loved one who I’ll call “X” had...

As elder law attorneys, our clients have presented us with many difficult situations involving adult children or grandchildren who live in their houses. Sometimes a child has run into some hard times and sees the parent’s home as an economical option; the child may move into his parent’s house along with his spouse and children. Sometimes the child just never became self-sufficient...

There is a fine line to tread when a concerned person observes what appears to be financial exploitation of a person with cognitive impairment. Under the law, an adult is presumed to be “competent” unless and until a Court has entered an Order declaring him or her to be incapacitated. As dementia develops, there can be a long distance between the onset of impaired judgment with...