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In my post last week I wrote about the trial in the matter of Aretha Franklin’s estate to determine which of two handwritten wills would be admitted as her last will.  The case illustrates the reasons why everyone should have a will executed in accordance with state law and preferably typewritten

Over the years I have written a number of blog posts about the reasons everyone should have a will and more specifically a formal one.  Too many adults don’t and high profile celebrities are no different than the general population.  I wrote 10 years ago about the litigation surrounding James Gandolfini’s estate

In this week’s post, I continue to discuss a common fact pattern we see in our office.  The case involves someone who needs long term care, doesn’t have enough to pay for it but does have a house.  As I explained last week, the available government benefit programs don’t always cover the

In this week’s post, I address a common problem we see often in our office.  An elderly client owns a home but very few other liquid assets.  Income from Social Security and pensions is enough to meet monthly expenses - but then things change.  Long term care becomes necessary.  That’s when the status quo

People will sometimes ask me why they need a will if they don’t have any probate assets.  This might be because they believe everything is owned jointly with right of survivorship or because they own nothing.  It usually turns out, however, that they do own something.  It might be a car that is

In last week’s post I explained that when the non-Medicaid spouse dies, the Medicaid spouse must receive at least a minimum amount of assets from the deceased spouse.  This is known as the elective share and in New Jersey is determined to be 1/3 of the deceased spouse’s estate less what

In my post last week I explained that once a Medicaid application is approved, everything isn’t on autopilot.  What I mean is that you must be vigilant so as not to lose the benefits once you have them. That can happen a number of ways such as a change in circumstance.