A Family Theft – Part 3
Last year I wrote about a family theft and its implications for Medicaid eligibility (Blog posts on 9/24/18 and 10/1/18). To summarize, we needed to apply for Medicaid for Sophie, who could no longer live at home but now needed nursing home care. She had lived with her sister Mary,
Right Way and the Wrong Way to Help Out Parents (Part 2)
    In last week’s post I was explaining the wrong way for children to chip in financially to help their parents. The wrong way can cause ineligibility periods for Medicaid and VA benefits. It can also eliminate the ability of the parents to repay the children when they
The Right Way and the Wrong Way to Help Out Parents
    Families look after each other. They pitch in when a member needs help. As an elder law attorney, I see this quite often. It can be an aging parent helping out an adult child in need due to financial difficulties caused by illness, job loss or divorce.
New Jersey Passes Assisted Suicide Law – Part 1
You might have missed it but in April, Governor Phil Murphy signed a bill making New Jersey the 8th state in the country to enact an assisted suicide bill. The other states that have such bills are California, Colorado, Hawaii, Montana, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. The law
Not as Much Time as You Think (Part 3)
A few weeks back I wrote about Mary’s call to our office regarding her dad who wanted to make a change to his will. He wanted to leave his home to Mary and everything else split equally between Mary and her sister Kate (See 5/20/19 and 5/27/19 posts.) Dad,
The Dreaded Diagnosis – Part 2
In my blog post last week I was discussing the answer to the question “when is the right time to plan for long term care.” I also noted that we are seeing more people dealing with long term care at a younger age, often in their 50’s
The Dreaded Diagnosis – Part 1
In this week’s blog post I want to revisit a question that I am asked often when I tell people what I do. They ask, “when is the right time to plan for the possible need for long term care?” For most people I think the optimum
Not as Much Time as You Think (Part 2)
In last week’s blog post I started to tell you about Mary’s call to our office. She reached out because her dad, who was in the hospital, wanted to make a change to his will to leave his home to Mary. It’s something he had told her
Not as Much Time as You Think (Part 1)
A part of what we do as elder law attorneys involves drafting the essential legal documents that will help clients set forth clearly their wishes and help family members assist them in accomplishing their goals. This usually includes a power of attorney, health care directive, last will and testament
Required Minimum Distributions – Part 2
               In last week’s blog post I covered the basics of how required minimum distribution (RMD) rules work for IRAs and other tax deferred retirement accounts. To summarize you must take out a minimum amount from your account each year. That’s RMD and it starts in the year you turn