“We need to change our estate planning documents before the end of the year when the Bush tax cuts expire.” For the past month or two, some couple...
Eldercare Lawyer Blog
Where Should You Keep Your Will?
As I gazed out over the mounds of trash that were once my neighbors’ furniture, personal belongings, and parts of their houses, I thought about all...
A Change That Shifts the Outlook for Medicare Recipients
This week the government settled a federal class action lawsuit involving the Medicare program. The settlement will affect millions of Medicare...
Planning for Medicaid Is Serious Business
I have met with hundreds of people regarding Medicaid planning issues. The stories, while always different, are also very similar in many ways. Mom...
Guide to New Jersey Death Taxes
As an elder law attorney, I am always surprised that no one ever talks aboutNew Jersey’s death taxes. We hear a lot about the federal estate tax,...
A Home Doesn’t Always Count the Way You Think
I meet with at least one spouse a week who is fearful of losing her house to the costs of long-term care for her husband. "I don't want the nursing...
A Diligent Inquiry
Why do I need a last will and testament? Most people believe that if they die without a Will, their estate passes to the state of New Jersey. This...
New Jersey Expands Medicaid Program: What It Means
New Jersey has expanded its Medicaid program to provide broader access to healthcare and long-term care services. These changes can affect...
Why You Should Save Those Bank Statements
Now, more than ever before, it is imperative that applicants for Medicaid benefits retain their financial records. In 2006, the federal laws...
A Shift in How Annuities Are Viewed Under Medicaid
On October 2, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decided a case involving non-assignable annuities in the context of...
Living Wills Don’t Kill
By: John W. Callinan, certified elder law attorney, serving Monmouth, Ocean, and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey, in the areas of Guardianship,...
Is Long Term Care Insurance Dying?
“Do you think long-term care insurance is right for me?” It’s a question that many clients have asked me. I don’t sell long-term care insurance,...
Being an Executor Is Harder Than Most People Expect
As my practice ages, I have a number of individuals come to me for advice on how to administer a loved one’s estate. The person died and may have a...
Unequal Distributions
Every day, I meet with people who want to engage in Medicaid planning. Medicaid is a government health insurance program for needy individuals. ...
Retirement Accounts Can Complicate Medicaid Planning
Medicaid planning is a process through which and individual attempts to qualify for Medicaid sooner than he would without planning and to preserve...
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Recent Posts
Medicaid Perils: What You Need to Know
THERE'S NOTHING TO IT. HAND ME THE HAMMER. Almost every day, a potential client comes to my office and asks how he can transfer his assets to his family without affecting his eligibility for Medicaid. Frequently, the client will think he should gift $10,000 to each of...
Medicaid Benefits Misconceptions
AN OLDIE BUT A GOODIE In recent columns, I've written about fairly recent developments in the field of elder law - court decisions that strength, and reaffirm, the rights of seniors. In this column, I'd like to write about a subject that I have written about before,...
Medicaid and Community Care
I WANT TO STAY IN MY HOME NO MATTER WHAT I have yet to meet a person who told me that they wanted to live in a nursing home. In fact, very few individuals ever want to leave their home, though some find themselves much happier after they've moved to a communal...
Medicaid After Death of a Spouse
CONTINUING MEDICAID ELIGIBILITY AFTER THE DEATH OF A SPOUSE Many of my clients who are seeking to qualify for Medicaid are married. One spouse is in a nursing home and the other spouse remains at home. The spouse who continues to reside at home is called the...
Medicaid’s Economic Impact Reaches Far Beyond Healthcare
MEDICAID: A BOON FOR THE POOR AND THE ECONOMY It's odd, but true. Sometimes, you need to spend money to make money. And, when you can get someone else to match the money you spend, spending money to make money is, well, easier. We all have heard stories in which the...
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