New Jersey Elder Legal Questions

The transfer will not "protect" the house from Medicaid.  If she needs full time skilled nursing care in a nursing home, she will have to pay for that care.  If she runs out of money, the house will have to be sold, and then the money spent, month by month, for her care until it runs out, and then if she still needs care, but has no money, medicaid will pay for that care.  She will be in eligible for Medicaid if she has transferred any assets within five years of applying for Medicaid.  So if you transfer the house you are basically gambling on the chances of her being able to stay in her home and/or pay for the care she needs on her yearly income plus her savings for five years, or until she is 95.  As an elder law attorney, I would advocate using her assets for her care. ... Read More

If your mom has the money, get her checkbook, get a check written out and have your mom sign it.  If your mom is competent, you might want to consider having her sign a new POA for you.   If she does not have the funds, you might need to consider a reverse mortgage to get access the equity in her home and allow her to stay there.  You should check her finances to be sure that the POA is spending her funds properly.... Read More

I'm not sure what your question is base don the information you provided.  Are you going to own the property with a life estate for your daughter?  Or the other way around?  that she owns it and you retain a life estate ?  either way - I would need to know why you are doing this because if it is for Medicaid or tax planning purposes, it may not provide the protection that you think it will. ... Read More

you should apply for emergency assistance for utilities.  contact the Board of Social Services in the County in which your mom lives.  If she is elderly, and/or disabled, she might be able to get assistance with payments.  Also - contact PSE&G immediately and advise them if your mom is elderly and/or disabled.  they will put her on a new payment schedule.  In the bigger picture, you need to figure out some way that mom can afford to pay her utilities.  It sounds like she cannot afford the home in which she is living and some arrangement must be made to get her in a living environment that she can afford.  If she lives in Monmouth or Ocean county call my office and we can discuss this matter further.... Read More

You cannot assign a power of attorney to another person.  If your grandmother is competent, you can  have her sign a new POA naming you as her representative.  If she is not competent, you might want to consider a guardianship, which will supersede the POA give to her niece.  The POA must use the person's funds for things that are in the person's best interest.  If she no longer wants responsibility, you might have to do a guardianship, which is a longer legal procedure, but not difficult.  If you are in Monmouth or Ocean County, and you would like to discuss this matter, feel free to contact my office.     ... Read More

It sounds like you need to do a guardianship over your sister, take a bit of control and find her some different housing.  the guardianship would be done in the county in which she currently lives.  If you are her guardian, it will give you the opportunity to find alternative, supportive housing for her, make sure she takes her meds, and also help you in protecting mom.  Please call my office if I can be of assistance. ... Read More

You do not have to know the name of the lawyer that wrote the POA in order to revoke it.  The POA can be revoked by writing a simple statement that says "I revoke the POwer of Attorney given to my son" and then putting your brother's name in there.  Have your mom sign that document, have her signature notarized, and send a copy of that revocation to your brother by certified mail. ... Read More

You need to start with a guardianship for your father, and then you can actually file the divorce on your own.  However, since your father is not competent, you cannot do that until you are his guardian. You will be able to get them separated and get him an apartment once that is completed.   Let me know if I can help in any way. ... Read More

The five year look back begins on the date that the Medicaid application is made.  At that point, the intake worker looks back through five years of financial history to see if there were any transfers made, and if there were, the transfer make the applicant ineligible for Medicaid.  The other way to look at it is if you made a transfer today, and then five years form now made a Medicaid application, the transfer would be beyond the five year look back period. ... Read More

You can certainly attempt to do this yourself, however you should be aware of all of the ramifications of doing the transfer such as Medicaid eligibility.  You must specifically state the property description from the prior deed, and file same with the county in which the property was located.... Read More

I do believe you can hire an attorney to file a petition in orphan's court to remove the agent. you should prevail if you have everything documented which it sounds like you will be able to get. a letter from the nursing home would help. the attorney may work with you and wait until he can have you access your mom's funds to get paid.... Read More

You need to consult with an Elder Law attorney.  Preferably one who is a CELA (Certified Elder Law Attorney) Your issues are too complex to answer here. You may need to file a guardianship, and take over payments, but you will not be liable for the care.  You can call my office if you would like some assistance, otherwise use Lawyers.com to find the name of an Elder LAw Attorney in the Cherry Hill area. ... Read More

That's incredible - you need to call the office of the Ombudsman for the Elderly immediately.  To file a complaint:Call Toll Free Intake Line: 1-877-582-6995Email: ombudsman@advocate.state.nj.usWrite: The Office of the OmbudsmanP.O. Box 852Trenton, NJ 08625-0852Fax: 609-943-3479 You should also call the adult protective services in the county in which the nursing home is located, and file a missing persons report immediately.  This is clearly negligence, and the nursing home should be doing what ever they can to locate your mother. ... Read More

You need to go to a new doctor!   You should also consider getting a geriatric care manager or other advocate to assist you with the doctor's appointment and all of the follow up necessary.  If you do not have a family member who is close enough to do this for you, do a search for a geriatric care manager in your county and find out if there is one available to assist you.  If you cannot afford this, you might contact your county board of social services to see if they can offer any assistance.... Read More

the reason the long term care facility is not allowing gifting is that they are concerned that the assets will run out, and your inlaws will not qualify for Medicaid because they have made gifts.  Do not confuse the federal gift tax limit with Medicaid rules.  If your inlaws live at the facility long enough, and run out of assets, any gifts they made within five years of applying for Medicaid will make them ineligible for Medicaid.  ... Read More

Call the office of Adult Protective Services in the county in which your mom lives.  Tell them your concerns, and have them start an investigation.  If they find all of the conditions you indicate, they will file for a guardianship.  Or, if you speak to an elder law attorney, you can file for the guardianship.  If your mom is in an unsafe condition, is not taking care of herself, then she needs help, even if she does not want it. ... Read More

I don't believe those benefits would be considered income.  The benefit would be paid directly to the care provider, and would be considered the same as medical insurance.  You should check to see if the policy meets the necessary criteria for the New Jersey matching program because certain types of policies allow you to protect other assets. ... Read More

You could go to the County Board of Social Services in the County in which you live, or the Medicaid applicant lives.  The intake workers there can assist you with eligibility guidelines and the application.  Much of the Veteran's benefits have the same criteria, except that the look back period is five years for Medicaid and three years for Veteran's and if you are a Veteran, you can keep more of your assets.  There are two Veteran's homes in New Jersey that provide long term care.  ... Read More

If you cash the CD and distribute the money to her children, this will cause her to be ineligible for Medicaid because Medicaid will impose a penalty.  The penalty imposed will depend on the amount of money transferred.  Even if the CD was for the benefit of her children it is still an available resource and would not go to her children until she died.  ... Read More

If the mother is curenlty in India, I do not think there is anything that can be done to require the son here in the US to provide care for his mother.  If the mother was here in the US, then Adult Protective Services could provide some assistance in making sure mom is cared for.   Good Luck.... Read More