Yes, we can still honor our aging parents
I wrote this piece in 2003 as a letter to the editor of the NJ Jewish News, at the death of my friends’ father, who was a charming man I’d really enjoyed knowing in his last twenty years. Something reminded me of him recently, so I thought I’d republish it here.
“Last week, I attended the funeral of the father of my close friends. He was 86 years old and died of...
Protecting your family’s inheritance from their creditors
Perhaps you’ve heard friends talking about a “legacy trust” or a “family trust ” or a “bloodline trust.” These are all names for the same basic concept. You may be at a point in your life that you feel that you do not need to retain the ownership of all of your assets because you feel that you really “have enough.” You feel that you want...
For Qualified Income Trusts, Not All Bank Accounts Are Created Equal
Medicaid Long Term Services and Supports (MLTSS) in New Jersey pays for nursing home care for people with alzheimers disease, catastrophic disabilities and other serious difficulties with self care. The program requires any applicant with more than $2205 (three times the SSI amount–new for 2017) of gross income to make a Qualified Income Trust. Our office assists applicants with this...
“Granny cams” available through new State program
The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, which licenses certified home health aides and provides a wide array of consumer protection programs, has announced a new program for individuals receiving home health care services. The Division will provide a micro-surveillance camera for thirty days at no cost to the consumer. The free service is not available to residents of health care...
Smoothing the way for a nursing home admission
The need to place a beloved family member in a nursing home may be one of the most harrowing and heartbreaking decisions a person has to make. Not only is there a terrible sense of guilt and failure, but the sheer cost of a single month in a nursing home is staggering, and leaves the family with a bleak view of their future security. They feel vulnerable, because they are at the mercy of...
Federal Law limits involuntary discharge of nursing home residents
The federal Nursing Home Residents’ Rights Act protects residents against arbitrary, involuntary discharge by specifying only 6 grounds for discharge..And above all, even when one of those 6 bases exists, a nursing home also has the duty to make a safe discharge. A nursing home cannot involuntarily transfer a Medicaid resident unless there is another placement available which is...
Protecting the family business as the owner ages
“Business succession planning” sounds like a concept for multi-millionaires, but if you have worked your whole life to create and sustain a small business which is loved by your community, you may feel worried at the prospect of what will happen to the brand you’ve built up through all your hard work. As a senior business owner, your business may be a delicatessen, or a...
Save your receipts and bills for five years, for the look-back
If medical catastrophe strikes and someone in your family needs nursing home care, they may want to apply for Medicaid to pick up those costs. The regulations are complex, but there are lots of legal strategies that we use to help a person become eligible and to protect the rest of the family at the same time. The process doesn’t stop there, though. The applicant has to prepare and file...