In December of 2019, the SECURE Act became law. Part of this new law was a change to how beneficiaries of qualified accounts (such as IRAs,...
Eldercare Lawyer Blog
Caregiver Child Victory
Recently, the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, rendered a very insightful decision concerning an issue involving the Medicaid...
Take the Blinders Off
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is the federal agency that administers the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Medicare and...
Taking Control of Your Possible Disability
There may come a point in your life when you are unable to make decisions for yourself. This inability may be temporary—such as a temporary...
The Benefits of a Trust Protector
When a person passes away, his property passes on to other individuals. If the decedent dies with a last will and testament, then his property will...
Second Marriages and Estate Litigation
In the past five years, I’ve noticed an acceleration of a trend that, in my opinion, is likely to result in an increase in the number of estates...
The Medicaid Clock Starts Ticking Sooner Than You Think
Medicaid is a government health payment plan for needy individuals. In order to qualify for Medicaid benefits, an individual must have a very...
What Did You Do for Your Parents?
What did you do for your parents? This is a question that some people ask me during a consultation appointment. I think it’s a smart question...
Is the Medicaid Process Really Fair?
Medicaid is a health payment plan for needy individuals. When a person enters a nursing home or assisted living residence, he is faced with a...
How Much Tax Do I Owe?
“How much tax do I have to pay on my inheritance?” the client asked. The lawyer said, “It depends on what you inherited.” When a person, called the...
Can You Refuse an Inheritance
When a person dies, he leaves his property—called his “Estate”—behind to be distributed to certain people. Who those people are depends on various...
Can the Nursing Home Kick Dad to the Curb?
When a client of mine goes to live in a nursing home, his family members often have a great number of concerns. One of the most frequent concerns I...
Some Assumptions Don’t Hold Up Under Closer Review
There are several misconceptions that I hear from clients on a regular basis. I thought I would take the time to write about several of the...
A Living Will Is not a Death Warrant
If you read my column regularly, you know that I recommend anyone over the age of eighteen having three, basic estate planning documents—a last will...
Why Fear of Legal Fees and Probate Often Leads to Costly Mistakes
By concentrating my practice in one area—elder law—I see the same issue arise time-and-time again, so I understand the public’s reaction to certain...
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Recent Posts
A Poorly Drafted Will Can Create Big Problems
A last will and testament is a document through which a person passes his assets on to others after his death. A Will is also a document through which a person nominates the person who will manage his estate after his death, called the executor. When a person leaves...
Do I Need a Trust?
“Do I need a trust?” I hear this question all the time from clients. There is no easy answer because the reason a person may need a trust varies. There are three roles involved with any trust—the grantor, the trustee, and the beneficiary. The grantor is the person who...
One Lawyer, One Client
When I first opened my law practice twenty-five years ago, I knew that I would concentrate in one area—elder law. There are many benefits to concentrating your practice in one area, but to me, the biggest benefit is that everything I do helps me hone my skills in this...
Protecting Your Assets from Medicaid
For years, I have been using an irrevocable trust to protect a client’s home from the cost of long-term care. I successfully used such a trust to protect my parents’ home from the ravages of long-term care. My mother was a resident of a nursing home for six years; my...
Having an Estate Plan
In my lifetime, several United States presidents have passed away, and one thing I notice about presidents is, each of them planned out their funeral arrangements in detail. I believe we can all take a lesson from this when making our estate plans. Approximately 68%...
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