How Elder Law Attorneys Are Modernizing Laws to Combat Elder Financial Exploitation
Elder exploitation, also known as financial abuse, is a widespread problem in the United States. Elder exploitation includes everything from an adult child taking …
Consider Alternative Care Facilities for an Aging Adult Besides an Assisted Living or Nursing Home
When considering options for long term care in a facility setting, most people know about assisted living facilities and nursing homes. There are, however, …
Can a Nursing Home, Assisted Living Resident Refuse the COVID Vaccine?
Vaccines are always controversial. For many of us, we view our right to receive a vaccine – or refuse it – to be similar …
How to Gain Access to a Safe Deposit Box Upon the Death of a Person
By Fredrick P. Niemann, Esq.
Holiday Visitation
After more than seven months of “sheltering in place” and limited “outdoor” visitation, many of our clients want to bring Mom or Dad home …
What is a “Durable Power of Attorney”, and What Authority Does It Grant?
A power of attorney (POA) is a written document under which an individual, called the principal, appoints either another individual or legal entity as …
Trust Administration: Which State Law Governs a Trust?
As trustee, you have many duties. Duties to your beneficiaries and the trust to ensure it is being administered properly to maximize distributions to …
Allowable Funeral Expenses – What Estate Expenses Can I Pay as Executor?
When a loved one dies, is nine or ten thousand dollars to pay for a funeral enough? Planning a funeral is the last thing …
A Beneficiary’s Right to Demand an Accounting is Not Absolute – Part 2
Part 1 of this article left off with observations from cases in which courts declined to enforce a beneficiary’s demand for an accounting. A …
A Beneficiary’s Right to Demand an Accounting is Not Absolute – Part 1
Does a trust/estate beneficiary have a right to financial info? Why would a court refuse to enforce that right? The beneficiaries of an estate …
Do You Know That You Can Demand Discovery from the County and State if You Appeal a Denial of Medicaid Eligibility?
Legal Argument Required to Demand Discovery A motion for discovery in a fair hearing appeal is properly made under N.J.A.C. 1:1-12.1-12.7. A motion for …
Can a Member of the New Jersey National Guard Be Eligible for a NJ Veterans Home?
Veterans eligible for a NJ veterans home are defined under N.J.A.C. § 5A:5-1.2 (the regulation governing veterans’ homes) as “A person who has been …
How is an Executor’s Commission Calculated in New Jersey?
Is there a formula that establishes what an Executor can earn? Does an Executor get paid extra for extra work? In New Jersey, the …
Refusal of Vaccinations While Living at Long-Term Care Facility
We received an inquiry from someone whose mother resides at an assisted living facility. The facility told residents it will be giving out flu …
Family Members Are Entitled to an Accounting and an Estate Inventory from a Former Power of Attorney
A court may compel someone who served as a Power of Attorney on behalf of another to account for monies expended during the time …
Is There Such a Thing as an Equitable Adoption So You Can Legally Inherit an Estate?
New Jersey has strict laws on adoption A stepchild is not legally the child of a deceased step-parent. An estranged biological child of a …
Obtaining a Medicaid PAS for an Out of State Medicaid Applicant
Our office recently did some research on a potential new matter involving an out of state resident looking to relocate to New Jersey to …
Is an Income Producing Property Exempt from Spenddown Under NJ Medicaid?
I was recently asked to evaluate whether income producing real estate is exempt from spend-down under NJ Medicaid. Federal law sets forth a mechanism …
The Importance of Discovery in a Fair Hearing Appeal Under NJ Medicaid Law
We represent a petitioner before the Office of Administrative Law. She was denied Medicaid. After filing our appeal, we served discovery demands upon the …
After the Wedding Bells Have Rung Again, Update your Estate Plan
It is surprising how often we hear of situations in which a person passed away unexpectedly or had a catastrophic accident or stoke, and …
If You Qualify for SSI, You Also Qualify for NJ FamilyCare
Once you qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), you are then eligible for NJ FamilyCare Medicaid. However, there are some rules to keep in …
Veteran’s Pension Planning for Long Term Care Costs Under the New Department of Veterans Affairs Regulations
The Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) adopted regulations concerning eligibility for Veteran’s Benefits to help pay for long term care costs. There are many …
Understanding Ancillary Probate in New Jersey and How it Works
Here’s a Helpful Article on How to Legally Transfer Real Estate Located in New Jersey Which is Owned by a Non-Resident Decedent’s Estate Ancillary …
Can I Control What Happens to My Corpse After My Passing?
While working on health care directives, I have had clients ask me about leaving special instructions for their loved ones on what they can …
Special Needs Trust, IRAs, and Child Support; How They Can All Work Together
IRA and a Special Needs Trust An individual retirement account or Inherited IRA can be owned by a person with a disability and also …
Another Dead Body Goes to Court
As I have previously written, NJ law allows individuals to make their own funeral and/or burial arrangements in a will, or designate a personal …
Who Has Standing to File a Guardianship Action?
The general rule (actually, it’s the law) is that a person who seeks to become a guardian for someone must have legal standing, meaning …
Child Support Can Be Placed in a Special Needs Trust to Preserve Government Benefits
Child support can be directed to a first party special needs trust, if one exists. Child support cannot go into a third party special …
You Can’t Wait 8 Years After a Person’s Death and Then Decide to Sue an Estate Executor
Families often fall apart when a parent dies and the kids start dividing up the estate. Sometimes even after the estate is concluded, one …
I Quit! I Refuse to Continue to Be Your Power of Attorney
You’ve heard of buyer’s remorse. What seemed like no big deal becomes more than expected and so the Power of Attorney gives up and …