The New Jersey estate tax will soon be a thing of the past. Currently, New Jersey imposes an estate tax on estates that have a gross value in...
Eldercare Lawyer Blog
The Personal Needs Allowance: More Important Than It Sounds
Medicaid is a health payment plan for needy individuals. If a person qualifies for Medicaid benefits, the program will pay for many of the costs...
Public Policy and Your Will
A New Jersey appellate division case addresses an interesting issue concerning a person’s last will and testament. A Will is called a Will because...
When Due Process Becomes More Than a Legal Phrase
I read an interesting decision in a litigated case involving a denial of Medicaid benefits. Medicaid is a health payment plan for needy individuals....
Can Estate Planning Be Too Specific?
When approaching the drafting of a last will and testament, many people wish to specifically leave assets to certain individuals. They might want...
Conflict Between Federal and State Law
The process of administering the estate of a decedent is, in most instances, quite simple. For most estates, the executor does not need to retain...
Support Trusts, Spendthrift Clauses, and Medicaid Eligibility
I am the Chairman of the Litigation Committee of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, commonly known as NAELA. NAELA has approximately 4,500...
The Intersection of Government Benefits
A recent decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit sheds light on a very interesting issue concerning the intersection of...
New Jersey Estate Tax Update
There has been a lot of talk in the halls of the New Jersey Legislature about repealing or modifying the New Jersey estate tax. New Jersey is one...
The Caregiver Child
A recent decision of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, highlights an interesting issue affecting New Jersey’s Medicaid program. ...
Is Medicaid Planning Illegal?
Is it illegal to give advice to a person about how best to qualify for Medicaid benefits? It depends. If the person giving the advice is not a...
Do I Recommend Long-Term Care Insurance?
Do I recommend that my clients purchase long-term care insurance? It’s a question that I am often asked. My answer is always the same: I recommend...
Executor’s Duty To Account
When an individual dies, someone has to be appointed to handle the affairs of his estate. If a person dies with a last will and testament, then the...
How Old Is Too Old?
Clients often ask me how often then should update their estate planning documents. The common estate planning documents are a last will and...
The Dangers of Dynasty Trusts
Many estate planning attorneys tout the advantages of a “dynasty trust.” There are several benefits that are commonly mentioned when these trusts...
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Recent Posts
Long-Term Care and Veterans Benefits
One thing that people who require long-term care need is money. If an elderly individual in need of care is a veteran or the widow of a veteran, he may be entitled to receive up to $1,843 per month in extra money. In this article, I will discuss a little known...
Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (the "DRA") is a comprehensive federal law that brought many changes to the federal Medicaid Act. In several of my columns, I have discussed how the DRA changed the Medicaid transfer of asset rules by expanding the lookback period...
Protecting Your Spouse
Long-term care costs a lot of money. A nursing home in this area can cost upwards of $9,000 a month. When one spouse requires nursing home care, the other spouse worries about protecting her estate for herself and for her family. If her husband requires long-term...
Big Win For the Elderly
Last week, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the court immediately below the United States Supreme Court, issued a decision in a case concerning an elder law issue. In my opinion, since I have been practicing elder law, this case, entitled...
Watch Those Beneficiary Designations
Last month, the Supreme Court of the United States decided a case that can serve as a warning to a great many people. The case is entitled Kennedy v. Plan Administrator for DuPont Savings. William Kennedy participated in his employer's savings and investment plan...
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