If You’re Going to Loan Money to a Parent, Do a Promissory Note and Keep Good Records
Older persons often have their liquid assets tied up in real estate, mutual funds and annuities. They cannot gain access to these funds quickly …
What Rights Do Estate Beneficiaries Have in Dealing With an Executor?
The Will says one thing but the Executor is doing something else! Can the Executor collect a fee for ‘doing nothing’? The title “Executor” …
What Does “Undue Influence” Mean in Challenging a Will?
How can a court determine if a testator was unduly influenced? If you help someone prepare their Will, does it become invalid? Undue Influence …
Naming a Guardian in a Will
It is a good idea when drafting a last will and testament that you put language in there appointing a guardian for your minor …
Guidelines on Preparing and Presenting a Medicaid Fair Hearing at the NJ Office of Administrative Law
A Medicaid Fair Hearing is a legal challenge to a decision by a County Board of Social Services (CBOSS) concerning any issue related to …
Fighting for Discharge After Voluntary Commitment
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with a psychiatric illness, this is a particularly difficult time. People are going into crisis …
Kinship Legal Guardianship: You Can Get Financial Aid in NJ to Care for Your Grandchildren and Sister’s Kids
New Jersey has a program that provides financial help to individuals caring for their grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or other children. It is called the …
COVID Vaccinations
Today, New Jersey announced that certain individuals under the age of 64 will be eligible for a COVID-19 vaccination soon. This news is a …
Understanding Medicaid Eligibility for Assisted Living Admission
To understand Assisted Living Medicaid, you must understand New Jersey’s Medicaid laws. You also need to understand the Medicaid history concerning assisted living admission …
If You Use a Financial Planner, Read This Post
Many financial planners are members of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP). The CFP Board is the professional body for financial planners. …
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 …