Practice Areas

Cherry Hill Elder Law Attorneys

Cape May · Atlantic City · Cherry Hill · Moorestown · Voorhees · Ocean City

Every adult should have a plan in place for the future. A few legal instruments can ensure that you have a hand in directing your loved ones in the event they have to make important decisions for your future needs.

At The Elder Law Offices of Nancy M. Rice we provide our clients with a high degree of experience in planning for disability care, minimizing estate taxes, and negotiating the New Jersey probate courts.

Contact our Cherry Hill elder law lawyers. We serve clients throughout Southern New Jersey from our offices in Cherry Hill and Ocean City.

Voorhees Special Needs Trust Lawyers

Our elder law attorneys are focused on planning that will result in the highest degree of financial independence for our clients:

New Jersey and Pennsylvania probate and estate administration : Our highly experienced attorneys and staff can assist you, whether you are an executor, administrator, guardian, conservator, attorney-in-fact or trustee (sometimes referred to as "fiduciaries") in the administration of estates and trusts.

Our attorneys function as legal advisors to such fiduciaries, making sure they are aware of their responsibilities, and we advise beneficiaries of their rights and reasonable expectations. We prepare all probate documents, including estate tax, inheritance tax, income tax, and gift tax returns necessary in the course of estate and trust administration.

Wecan also represent the interests of beneficiaries of estates and trusts, and can assist in a case where someone dies without a properly executed will (intestate).

Elder law : We can assist you with the following types of matters, encompassed within the field now known as "elder law":

Financial planning to avoid spousal impoverishment when a spouse or parent enters a nursing home
Medicaid eligibility
Medicare coverage issues
Supplemental and long-term health insurance issues

Planning for minimization of estate tax : We can customize an estate tax plan that minimizes the "death taxes" levied on an estate. We will consider:

Special needs trust : Our "convertible trust" is designed to allow a family caring for a child with disabilities to maximize the benefit of funds from a personal injury settlement or inheritance.

Disability planning documents may also include durable powers of attorney, living trusts, living wills/advance healthcare directives, and other means of delegating management and decision-making to another in case of your incompetence or incapacity, such as estate planning and conservatorships and guardianships.

Nursing home issues: We handle questions of patients' rights and nursing home quality, including elder abuse and fraud recovery cases.

Guardianship : If a loved one is no longer capable of making informed decisions, our lawyers can arrange the appointment of a guardian to take care of the important medical and financial issues facing the incapacitated person.

Medicare/Medicaid : We will help you take advantage of the maximum benefits available. We keep a close eye on changing state and federal law in this confusing area.

Financial planning for home care and assisted living : Our experienced elder law attorneys can plan your estate in order to make you eligible for Medicaid or other benefits in the event of long-term care placements in an assisted living facility (ALF), skilled nursing home (SNF) or continuing care retirement community (CCRC). Medicare will rarely pay for "custodial care."

Contested wills : In New Jersey, a resident who has received notice of probate of a will has only four (4) months to contest the filing of a will; nonresidents have only six (6) months.

The executor of an estate has a tremendous amount of power following the probate of a will, which is often not a formal procedure. In some cases, an executor may abuse his or her power by hiding assets or acting against the interests of the beneficiaries. In other situations, the decedent may have left confusing instructions, multiple wills, or failed to list the proper parties as beneficiaries of insurance policies or pension plans. Our attorneys are experienced in negotiating, settling, and if necessary, litigating these matters.

Estate Planning : We will be happy to review your existing documents (such as a will, power of attorney, living will, trust agreements) and advise you what, if anything, should be changed. We will also confirm that your beneficiary designations on annuities, life insurance, IRA's and other retirement plans are consistent with your estate planning goals. We will review your asset allocation and confirm you have adequate tax planning. Of course, we prepare and supervise:

The execution of wills, codicils
Revocable ("living") trusts and irrevocable trusts (including special needs trusts and "income only" trusts)
Durable powers of attorney
Living wills/advance medical directives

Power of Attorney : Our offices can draft documents giving any type of legal powers to the people you trust to make decisions for you when you cannot, ensuring peace of mind and reducing the confusion and stress for your loved ones, as there will be a clearly identified decision maker with legal powers.

Wills and Trusts: We prepare and supervise the execution of wills and codicils, as well as revocable and irrevocable trusts and testamentary trusts.

Conservatorships: Appointment of an individual to oversee your investments and financial matters, including public and private retirement benefits, survivor benefits and pension benefits.

For More Information on Elder Law and Estate Administration

If you or someone you care about is facing estate planning issues, an elder law attorney at our firm will take the time to get to know you before helping you with a uniquely designed estate plan. Contact our Voorhees special needs trust attorneys at either Cherry Hill or Ocean City.