WAEstate

Elder law is one of the newest specialty areas of the law that has emerged in recent years. Although elder law is a relatively new area of law, it is fast becoming a much sought after and necessary area of the law. The reason for this is due, in large part, to the exploding elderly population in the United States. As the Baby Boomers move into their retirement years, the sheer number of older Americans has created a need for attorneys who specialize in legal issues that impact the elderly. … [Read more...]

Most of our adult life is spent focusing on the work we need to do to provide a life for ourselves and our families. All too often, though, that’s all we end up doing. Too few of us either don’t have to opportunity to prepare for a sound retirement, or we just fail to take the steps needed to address those future needs. Experts suggest that more than half of all American adults have less than $10,000 in retirement funds available right now. When it comes to New Jersey retirement concerns, … [Read more...]

If you live in New Jersey and even think that you might one day find yourself in need of long-term care, then you owe it to yourself and your family to start planning for that eventuality now. Naturally, none of us want to really contemplate that sort of future for ourselves, since we’d all like to think that we’ll be healthy, vibrant, and self-sufficient until the day we die. Realistically, though, that’s simply not the case. A large percentage of us will one day end up in a nursing home or … [Read more...]

The Medicaid program is a health insurance program. It is jointly administered by the federal government along with the New Jersey state government. It is a program that is in place to provide health insurance for people who have very limited financial resources. You may wonder why you would ever want to be able to qualify for Medicaid in New Jersey if you have resources and you are going to qualify for Medicare when you reach the age of 65. The reason why Medicaid is relevant is because it … [Read more...]

You have to develop a practical strategy for aging if you want to be fully prepared for the future. It may be easy to understand the fact financial planning is important as you look ahead toward the different stages of life, but the latter portion can sometimes be misunderstood. As you start to see your retirement years come into focus, you may look forward to crossing things off of your bucket list as you enjoy yourself and spend quality time with your loved ones. Making sure that you have … [Read more...]

They say that time marches on, and it stands still for no one. When you are a child, this is hard to wrap your head around, because time seems to move very slowly as you look forward to getting older. However, at some point in time, you see how true these statements actually are. If you are a parent in your own right, you watch your children as they start to come into their own as young adults. On the other end of the spectrum, you may also see that your parents are getting up there in years. … [Read more...]

When you work and you examine your pay statement, you invariably see this pesky FICA deduction. It can seem like money going out the window, but you do get something in return for your contributions if you are fortunate enough to attain senior citizen status. You earn retirement credits when you pay this tax. It is possible to earn up to four credits in a year, and once you have accumulated 40 credits, you will qualify for Medicare and Social Security as a senior citizen. Accumulating the … [Read more...]

The Medicaid program is very important in an elder law context because the program will pay for nursing homes. Most seniors will require living assistance at some point in time, so the connection is quite relevant. If you are confused because you will qualify for Medicare coverage at the age of 65, this is understandable, but the truth is that Medicare does not work with nursing homes. If you require help with your activities of daily living, you would be receiving custodial care. Medicare will … [Read more...]

The government programs that are utilized by senior citizens can be somewhat confusing. With this in mind, we would like to examine the differences between Medicaid and Medicare, and we will provide some updated figures. Age of Eligibility One of the differences between Medicaid and Medicare is the fact that Medicare is a program that is available to senior citizens. There are no age requirements when it comes to Medicaid eligibility. In fact, many children are enrolled in the Medicaid health … [Read more...]