Power of Attorney Tag

If your family is struggling with the difficult decisions regarding nursing home placement or ongoing disability, Medicaid eligibility, or a need for in-home care, the elder law attorneys at FRE-L can assist you with many of the steps in that process. You may be wondering whether to engage an elder law attorney or to work with an application processer recommended by a nursing home. First and...

You’re 55 to 70 and your kids are all over 21 and starting to find their way in the world. It’s been 20 years since you last made an estate plan, and that may have only been a Will. Sounds familiar? I see these situations all the time. There can be loads of issues for baby boomers  to think about as you bring your estate plan in sync with your real life circumstances: (1) NJ...

Tuesday evening I was privileged to participate in a lively panel at the JCC in Scotch Plains that was answering  questions on a wide range of elder care/ elder law issues. The panelists were terrific — Michele Morandi, D.O., geriatric physician based in Union and affiliated with Center for Hope Hospice https://centerforhope.com/ ; Chris Kaiser, MSW, LCSW, Director of the Older Adult...

If you’ve been a designated as someone’s “Power of Attorney,” they’ve given you a big responsibility. The job is different than managing your own money. You are a fiduciary with a duty to the principal (the person who selected  you). You have to safeguard the assets of your “principal,” for their wellbeing and benefit. You need to stay aware of all...

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...

I recently had the occasion to make a house call to meet with a client who had stopped working about 4 years ago in his early 50’s. He became gravely, permanently  ill and eventually needed to apply for Social Security Disability benefits, which were approved. He had to endure the two-year wait until he could receive Medicare. As he got caught up in the throes of his illness, with...

As you begin making your plans for retirement, don’t neglect to prepare or update your estate plan. Your plan may be decades-old, or maybe you never even signed any documents for a plan. It’s a good idea to start thinking about a variety of issues at this time. Here are some of them. It’s important to sign  a Durable Power of Attorney and Health Care proxy to designate the...

Do you have an emerging young adult in your family who is not under a guardianship?  After their 18th birthday, you may want to consider having them meet with an attorney to discuss a durable power of attorney, health care proxy and a Will. People often say, “why do I need a Will?” or “isn’t estate planning for wealthy people?” The fact is that basic estate...

In a decision published yesterday, a New Jersey judge has ruled that a party to a divorce case cannot avoid the need for their personal participation by having their agent under Power of Attorney appear on their behalf. The case of Marisco v. Marisco, Chancery Div.-Ocean Cy., docket no. FM-15-1152-13-N (Jones, L. R., J.S.C.) involved a divorce action between a husband and wife in their...

Some years ago I was asked to help out “Mario”, who was about 80 and recently widowed after a long and happy marriage. He had Alzheimer’s Disease and was becoming disorganized. He had no kids, and his kin felt they could not step up and take on the job of assisting him. “Mario” was still living on his own in an apartment in Linden which was neat and tidy, and...