Is There Any Government Benefits I am Not Aware of? Part 1
        In this week’s post I want to talk about a common question I get about government benefits. “Is there any benefit my family member can get that I am not aware of?” In other words, “am I missing anything”? I can certainly
Getting and Then Keeping Medicaid- Part 3
    This week’s post is the last of 3 on the danger of losing Medicaid after having been approved. In both of our cases the Qualified Income Trust was the cause and each time it happened during the annual redetermination process.     As I explained last week
Getting Medicaid and then Keeping it (Part 2)
           In my post last week, I started to tell you about the dangers of losing Medicaid benefits after qualifying for them. That’s because you cannot put things on “autopilot”. One reason is that getting a Medicaid approval only lasts for one year. The State requires recipients to go through
Getting and Keeping Medicaid – Part 1
               In this week’s post I focus back on Medicaid. As I often tell people, every year it seems that securing Medicaid approvalsis increasingly difficult. There are more ways to be tripped up by the complex and often confusing rules and regulations. Many of the problems stem from keeping Medicaid
Why You Want to Avoid Intestacy Laws – Part 2
               In last week’s post I started talking about intestacy laws which direct how assets pass when a person dies without a will. This week I will discuss a couple of instances where failing to prepare a will proved harmful.                In the first case, Joe was married but he had
Why You Want to Avoid Intestacy Laws – Part 1
               In the past few months we have had calls regarding how to distribute assets of a person who dies without a will. This is what is known as dying “intestate”, without leaving a will or set of instructions as to how you want your assets distributed.  Keep in mind
What Exactly am I Authorized to Do with a POA? Part 2
    In last week’s blog post I started talking about the different types of powers of attorney. While it is important to have a power of attorney in place it is equally important to understand what it covers – what powers it confers upon the agent.    Â
What Exactly am I Authorized to Do with a POA? (Part 1)
               In my blog post this week I want to talk about the different types of powers of attorney and the confusion people sometimes have concerning what exactly each document allows them to do. Although different people may choose to use different names, I prefer to categorize the ability each
What If I Can’t Find the Original Will? Part 2
               In my blog last week I discussed a question I have heard often enough in my practice. “What if I can’t find the original will”, meaning “can we probate a copy”?  I explained last week that in the normal case in New Jersey there is no need for a
Gift or Theft? – Part 3
    In this week’s post I give you the conclusion to John’s saga with Medicaid. As you will recall, we have applied for Medicaid for John’s sister, Mary. In reviewing the 5 years of records which we must submit to the State, we found that John’s brother, Jerry