Fraud Prevention – Part 1
As internet use and online business have increased, so has online financial theft and fraud. Seniors are especially susceptible for a number of reasons. For one thing, criminals go where the money is. Much of the country’s wealth is held by the older population. Secondly, as we age, our cognitive skills are not what
Recent Trends in Medicaid
I have always said that the desire to quickly file a Medicaid application should be tempered by the ability to provide the documentation that is required for an application to be successful. The State is now scrutinizing every single transaction in and out of every single account that existed in
Sunset Provision for Social Security and Medicare? – Part 2
In last week’s post I started to discuss clauses found in some laws that are called “sunset provisions”. They are essentially expiration dates for a law. We’ve seen them in estate tax laws. The current federal estate tax exemption is scheduled to “sunset” in 2025, unless Congress votes to extend. The key here is
Unintended Consequences – Part 2
In my post last week, I started to tell you about an interesting estate administration case involving an heir who had legally adopted the decedent a number of years before the decedent died. This was an adult adoption in which the adopted parent was only 10 years older than the adopted
Unintended Consequences (Part 1)
In this week’s post I’ll tell you about an interesting issue that came to our office involving an estate administration matter. The decedent left a portion of his estate to his friend. What I also learned is that the friend who was 10 or so years older than the decedent, legally adopted
The Executor who is Neither a Resident nor a Citizen (Part 2)
My post last week was about a call we received from someone named as executor in a sibling’s will. While the decedent was a New Jersey resident and U.S. citizen, the executor was not. As I explained last week, there is no New Jersey statute or rule requiring it, however, there are
The Executor Who is Neither a Resident Nor a Citizen (Part 1)
We received a call the other day regarding an estate administration matter. A New Jersey resident died leaving a home and other assets in her name. She named her her sibling as the sole heir as well as her executor. Sounded pretty straight forward. An inheritance tax return would need to be filed
New York Long Term Care Trust Act – Part 2
In last week’s post I wrote about a bill introduced in New York that we may eventually see in New Jersey. Modeled after a Washington state law, if passed it would mandate a payroll tax on all employees to cover an insurance policy that will provide coverage for their long term
New York Long Term Care Trust Act – Part 1
A bill introduced in the New York Senate may be something to pay attention to here in New Jersey. The law is titled the “New York Long Term Care Trust Act” and is modeled after a similar law passed in the State of Washington last year, although attempting to avoid that
A Mysterious Disappearance – Part 2
In last week’s post I told you about Joe’s call concerning the disappearance of his brother Jim while on a trip to South America. The fishing boat he was on came back without him but his body has not been recovered. While the loss and uncertainty obviously is causing much pain for