New Jersey Elder Law Attorneys
Cape May · Atlantic City · Cherry Hill · Moorestown · Voorhees · Ocean City · Haddonfield
Elder Law Attorneys at our firm, the Law Offices of Nancy M. Rice provide our clients with a high degree of experience in planning for disability care, minimizing estate taxes, and negotiating the New Jersey probate courts. We serve clients throughout southern New Jersey from our offices in Haddonfield and Ocean City.
As a New Jersey Elder Law firm we are focused on planning that will result in the highest degree of financial independence for our clients:
- New Jersey and Pennsylvania Probate: Our highly experienced attorneys and staff can assist you in handling the financial and legal affairs of another, whether you serve as Attorney-in-Fact (pursuant to a Power of Attorney), Conservator, Guardian, Executor, Administrator, or Trustee. We can 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).
- New Jersey and Pennsylvania Estate Administration: We assist Executors, Administrators, Guardians, Conservators, Attorneys-in-Fact, and Trustees (sometimes referred to as "Fiduciaries") in the administration of estates and Trusts. We function as legal advisor 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.
- 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
- 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.
- Planning for Estate Tax Minimization: We can customize an estate tax plan that minimizes the "death taxes" an estate will have to pay.
- 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.
- Disability Planning: Disability planning documents may include Durable Powers of Attorney, Living Trusts, Living Wills / Advance Health Care Directives, and other means of delegating management and decision-making to another in case of your incompetence or incapacity:
- conservatorships and guardianships
- estate planning, including planning for the management of your estate during your lifetime and its disposition on your death through the use of Trusts, Wills and other planning documents
- probate
- administration and management of Trusts and estates
- long-term care placements in an assisted living facility (ALF), skilled nursing home (SNF) or continuing care retirement community (CCRC)
- nursing home issues, including questions of patients' rights and nursing home quality
- elder abuse and fraud recovery cases
- housing issues, home-based Medicaid, and reverse mortgages
- retirement, including public and private retirement benefits, survivor benefits and pension benefits
- Financial Planning for Home Care and Assisted Living: Our experienced Elder Law Attorneys can plan your estate in order to make you eligible or Medicaid or other benefits. Medicare will rarely pay for "custodial care"
- Contested Wills : In New Jersey, the Executor of an estate has a tremendous amount of power following the probate of a Will, 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 firm is experienced in negotiating, settling, and if necessary, litigating these matters. 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; non-residents have only six (6) months. Thus, it is critical to contact a New Jersey probate lawyer immediately if you or a loved one thinks there may be any basis to challenge the probate of a Will.
- 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.
- 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, Irrevocable Trusts (including Special Needs Trusts and "Income Only" Trusts), Durable Powers of Attorney, and Living Wills / Advance Medical Directives.
- Wills: We prepare and supervise the execution of Wills and Codicils, as well as Revocable and Irrevocable Trusts.
- Testamentary Trusts: created within a Will to take effect only at death
- Revocable Living Trusts: to protect privacy and hold out-of-state real estate
- Irrevocable Trusts: for tax planning and asset protection
- Powers 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.
- Conservatorships: appointment of an individual to oversee your investments and financial matters
More Information:
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 southern New Jersey Elder Law Offices at either Haddonfield or Ocean City.
Attorneys at the Law Offices of Nancy M. Rice provide experienced Elder Law, probate, special needs planning, and guardianship services to clients throughout southern New Jersey, including the communities of Haddonfield, Cherry Hill, Voorhees, Moorestown, Mount Laurel, Mount Holly, Woodbury, Deptford, Washington Township, Hammonton, Glassboro, Cape May, Avalon, Ocean City, Linwood, Northfield, and Toms River and Camden County, Burlington County, Gloucester County, Salem County, Cumberland County, Cape May County, Atlantic County and Ocean County.
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