When it comes to things like child support, custody, and visitation, most people tend to think only of the rights of that child’s parents. Typically, the rights of other loved ones in that child’s life are not very well-known generally because the concept that grandparents—and others with significant relations to the child such as siblings—should have the right to contact and visit that child has only been established in the last two decades. Continue reading “The Visitation Rights of Grandparents in New Jersey”
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Storing and Maintaining Original Estate Planning Documents
Creating and maintaining a comprehensive estate plan is essential to preserving assets and ensuring that a beneficiary’s financial needs are met in the event that a person should die. A thorough estate plan can be created at any age and should include a Last Will & Testament and advanced directives such as a Health Care Proxy, Living Will, and Power of Attorney. Some estate plans may also include a Trust in order to protect certain assets. Continue reading “Storing and Maintaining Original Estate Planning Documents”
Update Your Power Of Attorney to Reflect Changes in the Law
A power of attorney is a standardized legal form created by statute that gives an agent the ability to act on behalf of the principal in the event that he or she becomes disabled or incapacitated. It is particularly important to keep a Power of Attorney up to date as well as periodically review the document in order to add enumerated powers or update it in accordance with new case law or life circumstances, even if the agents remain the same. Continue reading “Update Your Power Of Attorney to Reflect Changes in the Law”
Purpose of a Trust
The main purpose of every trust is to preserve assets that will eventually pass or transfer to beneficiaries. In order for the trust to be valid, the terms must clearly recognize that the assets will be transferred to beneficiaries. In addition, trusts are also used to: Continue reading “Purpose of a Trust”
Authorization for Final Disposition
An authorization for final dispositions is a document that allows a person to designate who will be in charge of their body and funeral arrangements upon his or her death. In addition, the document provides family members and loved ones with specific instructions regarding a person’s wishes for their funeral and body disposition. The document may include information regarding: Continue reading “Authorization for Final Disposition”
Peggy’s Law
Soon, nursing homes in New Jersey will be required to have employees notify the local police department within hours of a suspected claim of abuse. This law, also known as Peggy’s Law, was adopted to provide protection to residents of nursing homes who are being abused. The law was named after Peggy Marzolla, who died at 93 years of age, after sustaining injuries while in the care of a nursing home. In 2010, Ms. Marzolla was brought to the hospital where doctors discovered she had a broken jaw, eye socket, cheekbone, and wrist. She also had bruises on her elbows, welts on her back and a gash on her leg. Continue reading “Peggy’s Law”
Trust Basics
Estate planning is a complex process. Estate planning often includes a Last Will and Testament and may also include utilizing a trust as well as advance directives such as a power of attorney, health care proxy, living will, and HIPPA release form, among others. While these concepts may be foreign, these estate-planning tools assist with creating a comprehensive estate plan. One of the most important tools in every estate plan is a trust. A trust is created to protect property and assets. In order for a trust to be valid it must: Continue reading “Trust Basics”
Utilizing A Pre-Paid Irrevocable Funeral Contract (or Trust) To Qualify For Chronic Care Medicaid
When an individual is entering a skilled nursing facility, it may be necessary to complete an application for Chronic Care Medicaid. A skilled nursing facility may cost anywhere from $15,000.00 to $25,000 per month, which can quickly lead to the depletion of available resources. Medicaid is a need-based program that assists with the cost of care in a skilled nursing facility. To qualify for Medicaid, an individual must meet certain asset and income requirements. Continue reading “Utilizing A Pre-Paid Irrevocable Funeral Contract (or Trust) To Qualify For Chronic Care Medicaid”
Do Not Use Funds from an Irrevocable Trust to Cover the Cost of an Assisted Living Facility
Oftentimes, individuals will put the proceeds from the sale of a house into an irrevocable trust. When the time comes, an elderly person may move into an assisted living facility, which can be expensive. A trustee of an irrevocable trust may look to use the funds in an irrevocable trust to cover the cost of the assisted living facility. However, the money in an irrevocable trust should not be used to pay for care in an assisted living facility. The reason being is that an irrevocable trust is only exempt for Medicaid purposes when there are no principal distributions being made to a grantor or in this case to an assisted living facility on an individual’s behalf because doing so would violate the terms of a trust.
Should You Contest a Family Members Will?
While some people are pleased with the way a decedent allocated assets to his or her beneficiaries, others may not be. However, just because a person was not given what he or she felt they were entitled to, does not necessarily provide them with the grounds necessary to challenge a decedent’s will. An individual must determine whether challenging a decedent’s will is both valid and will succeed in the eyes of the law because the process is timely and expensive. It is worth mentioning that a decedent has a right to allocate his or her assets or other meaningful possessions to those of their choosing. This includes leaving assets or large sums of money to a charity or other institution. However, this does not preclude a beneficiary or heir from challenging the decedent’s will.
Continue reading “Should You Contest a Family Members Will?”
