A Mysterious Disappearance – Part 1
We recently received a call from Joe. He said his brother, Jim, who lives in New Jersey with his family, went to South America on a fishing trip. When the boat returned to shore Jim was nowhere to be found and the crew had no answers as to what happened to him. It
Why and When a Surety Bond is Necessary – Part 3
In this third post of three I once again discuss surety bonds. Last week I explained the types of situations where a court would require one. The cost of a bond is the premium - an annual fee that must be paid each year the bond remains in place. How long is that
Why and When a Surety Bond is Necessary – Part 2
Why and When a Surety Bond is Necessary In last week’s blog post I explained what a surety bond is and why, in a general sense, it is required by courts. This week I will cover situations in which a court would or might require one. Typically, when someone dies leaving a will
Why and When a Surety Bond is Necessary – Part 1
In a number of estate administration and guardianship matters in our office the need for a bond becomes an issue. Clients often don’t understand the purpose of a bond and are upset that they need to go through the process of qualifying for one and that there is a cost, which
Medicaid Application Finish Line Shortened
In the past several years, especially since COVID, the Medicaid application process has become more lengthy and time consuming. More documents are now required in order to achieve Medicaid approval than ever before. The 16 page application is the easy part but I always tell people that you must have your ducks
Increase in Medicaid Divisor
As I have written about frequently in this blog, when applying for Medicaid an applicant must establish by documentary evidence that he or she did not transfer assets in the 5 year period directly before the requested start date for benefits. Any transfers made for which product or service of equal value
Estate Administration to Pursue Legal Claims – Part 3
In last week’s blog post I talked about a call from an attorney who needed help. He was handling a wrongful death claim on behalf of the children of a father who had died of injuries suffered in a car accident. I was able to get the son appointed administrator ad prosequendum
Estate Administration to Pursue Legal Claims – Part 2
In last week’s post I referred to a recent case in our office in which an administrator ad prosequendum was needed with respect to an estate whose only potential asset was a legal claim for damages resulting from a wrongful death. Not knowing how much might be recovered and there being
Estate Administration to Pursue Legal Claims – Part 1
We recently received a call from a personal injury attorney in need of help. The attorney had pursued a wrongful death claim on behalf of the children of their father who died in motor vehicle accident. Their father had no assets at the time of his death and in fact was a Medicaid
Changing Distributions After Death – Part 3
In my last two posts I have been talking about the challenge of redistributing an inheritance after death. Many people assume that they are free to accept the sum bequeathed to them or not and that is absolutely true. But as I explained last week, there are tax ramifications, specifically gift