Your Digital Assets – Are You Covered?
Technology has allowed us as a society to go places and do things never before imagined. But, it has created issues and problems that, likewise, we could never have imagined. Much has been written about the problem of texting while driving or “sexting” by minors. Our laws have been
Turning Life Insurance into Long Term Care Insurance (Part 2)
So your parent has an insurance policy that they can no longer afford and they are in spend down mode to qualify for Medicaid. Cashing in the policy and spending the proceeds is necessary before Medicaid will kick in. But last week I mentioned another option, something called a
Turning Life Insurance into Long Term Care Insurance (Part 1)
For 20 years now, I’ve been guiding clients and their families on the spend down of assets before applying for Medicaid. Successful applicants must spend down just about everything before getting Medicaid approval, including any life insurance policies that have cash surrender value. For many seniors the cash surrender value of
The Aide that Moved Right in (Part 2)
Last week I was telling you about Sue, who called about her 90 year old aunt, Amelia. Amelia had hired a home health aide through what she thought was a home health agency. Sue recently learned that the aide had taken Amelia to an attorney who prepared legal documents designating
The aide that moved right in
Sue called regarding her 90 year old aunt, Amelia, who had a series of strokes. For the past 6 months she had a live in aide assisting her but it was what Sue told me about that aide which was so troubling. Amelia happened to mention that the aide took her
VA Pension is not Income for Medicaid Purposes
An important decision by federal court judge two weeks ago will have a big impact on many New Jersey assisted living residents – in a positive way. The case, Galletta v. Velez, directly addresses the relationship between VA and Medicaid benefits, which don’t always work well together. Some Medicaid programs have
The Bank Says I Need Guardianship For Mom (Part 2)
The bank told Mary they would not honor her mother’s power of attorney (POA), designating her as agent. They instead insisted she would need to apply for guardianship. Last week, I told you that the bank’s position violates New Jersey law. Why? Because they did not have a specific reason for
The Bank Says I Need Guardianship For Mom
Mary presented to the bank the power of attorney (POA) we had prepared and Mom signed in our office 2 years ago. It was a general durable power of attorney, giving Mary the ability to do banking on Mom’s behalf as well as other actions she might need to take
New Jersey’s Returning Home Program
A battle is playing out in Trenton over Governor Christie’s attempt to balance the budget by delaying payments intended to make up for years of underfunding of the State’s government pension system. I have written in the past about how increasingly scrutinizing New Jersey has been with regard to Medicaid
Home Health Aide – Employee or Independent Contractor? (Part 2)
So, Mom needs a home health aide. Hire an agency or hire an aide directly? As I explained last week, some of my clients make that decision based solely on cost. They can pay an aide less than they would pay an agency. That typically is because they are treating