The other week I wrote about my new take on revocable living trusts—basically, that in today’s world, privacy may be more valuable, and a revocable...
Eldercare Lawyer Blog
Preserving Your Right to Privacy
For years I have written articles informing people that the process of submitting a last will and testament to probate in New Jersey is simple. The...
You May Not Need a Lawyer
A lot of my clients ask whether I'll help their family with probate matters after they pass away. In reality, very few executors actually need a...
What Is Going To Be Left for Me?
When a spouse needs long-term care, the spouse who remains at home often wonders what assets will be left to live on. Long-term care is exceedingly...
Probate in New Jersey
I have been getting a lot of questions from clients about whether they should avoid probate. Most New Jersey residents have heard the word “probate”...
Your Will Isn’t the Product. Getting It Right Is.
Like you, I've seen the ads for online wills and other estate planning documents. Watching them, I find myself asking the same questions you...
Long Term Care Planning and IRAs
The cost of long-term care in New Jersey has reached levels that most families are simply not prepared for. Over the past five years alone, costs...
The Step-Up in Basis Myth Can Be Costly
After more than 26 years practicing elder law in New Jersey, I have noticed that misconceptions tend to arrive in waves. The same misunderstanding...
The Medicaid Spend Down
When a family faces the staggering cost of long-term care, Medicaid often becomes the only realistic way to pay for nursing home, assisted living,...
Not All Trusts Protect Assets the Same Way
When clients come to my office asking about living trusts, they often arrive with the assumption that a trust is a trust. That any trust will...
A Trust Isn’t Always the Default Answer
When people begin the estate planning process, they often hear that they “need a trust.” The truth is more nuanced. Trusts can be extremely useful,...
Understanding the Medicaid Five-Year Lookback Period
When someone applies for long-term care Medicaid, one of the most important rules is the five-year lookback period. This rule determines whether the...
Protecting Your Home from Long-Term Care Costs
For many families, the home is their largest and most meaningful asset. It represents a lifetime of work and is often what parents hope to pass on...
Living Documents
For more than 26 years, I have practiced elder law in New Jersey. Over that time, I have drafted tens of thousands of estate-planning documents—last...
Gift and Estate Tax: The Boogeyman Explained
Beginning in 2026, the federal lifetime exclusion against gift and estate tax is scheduled to increase to $15,000,000 per individual. In simple...
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Recent Posts
How a Living Trust Works
The other week I wrote about my new take on revocable living trusts—basically, that in today’s world, privacy may be more valuable, and a revocable living trust can shelter the terms of your estate plan from people you do not want to have that information. In this...
Preserving Your Right to Privacy
For years I have written articles informing people that the process of submitting a last will and testament to probate in New Jersey is simple. The topic typically comes up in a conversation about revocable living trusts. And while the process of probate has not...
You May Not Need a Lawyer
A lot of my clients ask whether I'll help their family with probate matters after they pass away. In reality, very few executors actually need a lawyer's help to carry out that role. An executor is always free to hire an attorney to advise and assist them, but in most...
What Is Going To Be Left for Me?
When a spouse needs long-term care, the spouse who remains at home often wonders what assets will be left to live on. Long-term care is exceedingly expensive. In the past five years, the cost has even surprised me. A nursing home can cost $12,000 to $17,000 a month....
Probate in New Jersey
I have been getting a lot of questions from clients about whether they should avoid probate. Most New Jersey residents have heard the word “probate” and assume it means something complicated, expensive, and worth avoiding at all costs. In reality, probate is a short...
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To schedule a consultation with the Law Offices of John W. Callinan, call our office closest to you:
Sea Girt (732) 974-8898 Middletown (732) 706-8008