A reader recently asked for an explanation of the differences between the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The following are excerpts from my book,...
Eldercare Lawyer Blog
Requirements of a Will
Most people understand the purpose of a last will and testament. A Will is a document the primary purpose of which is to pass a person’s assets to...
Recent Case Unfavorable to Caregiver Agreements
The other week, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, decided a case that sounds the death knell for caregiver agreements as a means...
An Excerpt from My Book
The following is an excerpt from my book, New Jersey Elder Law: A Resource and Planning Guide. The book is published by ALM Media. ALM is the...
Can I Amend My Will?
Oftentimes, a client asks me to draft an amendment to his last will and testament. Most people believe that an amendment to their Will is less...
How To Buy My Book
The following is an excerpt from my book, New Jersey Elder Law: A Resource and Planning Guide. The book is published by ALM Media. ALM is the...
Current Legislation
Currently, there are two important bills pending in the federal and state legislatures that affected the aged and the disabled. One bill pending...
Agreements to Change a Will: What Families Should Know
In some situations, family members may believe they have an agreement regarding how a will should be changed or honored. These arrangements are...
Estate Administration
Over the course of my career, I have drafted thousands of last wills and testaments for clients. As time passes, some of those clients have passed...
Kicking Dad to the Curb
One of the most common questions I hear has to do with the placement of a family member in a long-term care facility, such as a nursing home or...
The Tax-Deferred Annuity
After an individual dies, his estate must be administered. Many people call estate administration "probate," but probate is only one small part of...
Controlling Your Funeral
In the past month, I have been involved in several discussions with clients and other elder law attorneys about the right of one person to control...
Should You Try to Avoid Probate?
Every week a client will ask me, "How can I avoid probate?" Clients believe that probate is a very expensive process and that it involves lawyers...
Understanding the Medicaid Spend Down Process
Medicaid is a health insurance program for needy individuals. Unlike most policies of health insurance, Medicaid will pay for long-term care, such...
Should We Kill the Estate Tax?
New Jersey has two death taxes--the New Jersey estate tax and the New Jersey inheritance tax. Only one other state, Maryland, has an estate and...
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Recent Posts
The Devil is in the Details
The Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, recently decided a case that almost seems comical, but the parties in the case probably aren't laughing. Jack Murray engaged the services of William E. Spiegle III, Esq., to draft his last will and testament. Mr....
The Drawbacks of a Trust
What is a trust? Most of us have heard the word "trust" and most of us have a basic understanding of what a trust is, but few people seem to really understand what a trust is and how a trust functions. A trust is a contract. It is a contract between the parties to the...
Will You Do Everything for Me? Understanding Executor Duties
I have been practicing elder law for twenty years. The benefit of concentrating my practice in one area of the law is that everything I do is focused on that one area. When a new legal case affecting an issue of elder law is decided, I know about it. I’m a big...
Planning for Minor Beneficiaries
Many people choose to leave a part of their estate to beneficiaries who are minors. Some people leave assets to a minor beneficiary indirectly; they may have left their estate to their adult child, but the child predeceased them so that child’s share of the estate...
Planning Options For the Solo Senior
PLANNING OPTIONS FOR THE SOLO SENIOR What happens to those people who truly have no one to help them? No one who can, or even would, make decisions for them? This situation arises more often than you may think. As people age, family members and friends die or move...
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Sea Girt (732) 974-8898 Middletown (732) 706-8008