Second Marriage Issues – Part 2
In last week’s blog post, I began a discussion about second marriage issues. This week I will tell you about a specific second marriage problem in our office. Husband and wife each had children from a first marriage and no children as a result of their marriage the second for both. They did
Second Marriage Issues – Part 1
I have written often in my blog about second marriage issues. The reason is the potential that such marriages present different heirs for each spouse. In some cases one spouse has children from a previous marriage and the other does not. In other cases, the second marriage results in children as well as
Don’t Forget About Medicaid’s Medical Test – Part 4
In my post last week, I explained the risk of residing in an assisted living facility (ALF), running out of money but being too healthy to meet Medicaid’s medical test. If the applicant is still only paying the basic room and board cost and not for any care when the money
Don’t Forget About Medicaid’s Medical Test – Part 3
In my blog post last week, I explained the risk of not satisfying Medicaid’s medical test when residing in an assisted living facility (ALF) as opposed to a nursing home. Assisted living residents do not typically need nursing home level care when they first enter a facility. While this may be expected
Don’t Forget About Medicaid’s Medical Test – Part 2
In my blog post last week, I began a discussion about Medicaid’s medical test. While the financial requirements to qualify for Medicaid are extensive and involve “looking back” through 5 years of financial transaction, we cannot forget that there is also a medical requirement of needing nursing home level care. As I
Don’t Forget About Medicaid’s Medical Test
When families call our office to inquire about Medicaid, the conversation tends to focus mostly on my explanation of the financial requirements. People generally understand that Medicaid is a needs based benefit with an income test and an asset test. The State’s scrutiny of an applicant’s finances over a 5 year period
Your Payable on Death Designation May Surprise You – Part 2
In my blog last week I began talking about payable on death designations. Wife died and 10 days later Husband died. Neither spouse had left a will but Wife had designated Husband as her primary beneficiary of her 401k. She did not designate any alternate beneficiaries. In the process of liquidating Wife’s 401k, we
Your Payable on Death Beneficiary Just May Surprise You (Part 1)
I have posted many times on this blog about the reasons why you should have a will. I have also written about certain types of assets that are not controlled by a last will. One such type is contract property, which is any account that has a payable upon death (POD) designation
How to Leave Personal Property (Part 4)
How to Leave Personal Property (Part 4) In my blog post last week discussing personal property, I explained that leaving a written list in your will can problematic for several reasons. This week I will tell you about one specific reason. The State of New Jersey may come calling. That’s because it periodically checks
How to Leave Personal Property (Part 3)
How to Leave Personal Property (Part 3) In this 3rd blog post on this topic I continue a discussion about how to leave personal property when one passes away. Last week I explained that when clients sign their wills, we also give them a personal property memorandum that they can complete at