Tag: Elder Law

7 Tips to Effectively Communicate with Someone Who Has Dementia

On By Jane Fearn-Zimmer, Esq.In Dementia, Elder LawLeave a comment

Dealing with DimensiaSometimes, the world can look completely different depending on your vantage point. This past summer, national news reported that an eighty-seven-year-old cognitively impaired woman was brutally tazered in the chest, handcuffed and arrested for trespassing after wandering onto private property holding a knife near a local youth club to gather dandelions.  I suppose that this lady must have left her home that day with the notion of gathering flowers. I wish that I had the benefit of her perspective as the situation unfolded.

Some months ago, a local long term care facility put on a virtual dementia tour so that caregivers and elder care industry professionals could briefly experience the world through the vantage point of an individual with dementia. With mittens on their hands to simulate arthritis, inserts in their shoes to “experience” neuropathy, goggles dimming their vision, and incomprehensible sounds blasting throughout the tour causing frustration and confusion, the participants were given instructions to follow, instructions which made no sense. The experience helped me to appreciate how different our world looks to someone living with dementia and how very emotionally vulnerable they must feel.

Keeping their sensitivity in mind, here are some simple strategies to facilitate communications. The tips were generously shared by Angela Lunde of the Neurology Department of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

  1. Get down on it. Dementia can be accompanied by a decline in peripheral vision. How much would you understand and how would you feel if you could only see the torso of the person speaking to you? Kneel or sit beside the demented individual to get down to their eye level.
  2. Go slow. Individuals with dementia may process sounds at a slower speed and short term memory loss can impede their immediate recall. Pausing as you speak can help these individuals “catch up” and understand your words.
  3. Louder does not always mean clearer. Speaking in a loud voice can inadvertently escalate a difficult situation.
  4. Combine choice with control. Too many choices can be confusing. Give just two choices instead.
  5. Be inclusive. Dementia training should not be confined to long term care facilities, rehabilitation centers and hospitals. Our communities should work to reduce stigmas and train public service employees and business people on how to be “dementia friendly.” This is good for business and contributes to improved safety and quality of life for the cognitively impaired in the community.
  6. Keep it Light. Natural light, that is. Keep curtains and blinds open during the day. Watch out for distracting reflections from window panes and glare from artificial lighting and deep pools of bright light, especially on stairs and in bathrooms.
  7. Go Outside. Yes, your mother was right! Going outside to enjoy nature is good for you. Exposure to sunlight contributes to good sleep hygiene in setting your circadian rhythms and is linked in studies to decreased blood pressure. This is especially important for individuals ages forty-five to sixty-one, in light of a recent medical study associating mid-life hypertension with an increased risk of dementia, compared to those with no or low hypertension. Abell JG, Dugravot A, et al., European Heart Journal 2018; June 12.

For further information regarding dementia, additional dementia resources can be found online by visiting:

Questions? Let Jane know.

Jane Fearn-Zimmer is an Elder and Disability Law, Taxation, and Trusts and Estates attorney. She dedicates her practice to serving clients in the areas of elder and disability law, special needs planning, asset protection, tax and estate planning and estate administration. She also serves as Chair of the Elder & Disability Law section of the NJSBA.

Involuntary Commitment Proceedings –Who Pays for That?

On By Jane Fearn-Zimmer, Esq.In Disability LawLeave a comment

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An involuntary commitment, or civil commitment, proceeding, is a summary legal action filed in order to obtain a court order to require a mentally ill individual to receive necessary psychiatric treatment against his or her wishes, pursuant to N.J. Rule of Court §4:74-7 and N.J.S.A. §30:4-27.2.  Typically, the involuntary commitment process is initiated through a mental health screening, but the process can also be filed by a prosecutor or the Attorney General. Only individuals who are shown by clear and convincing evidence to present a danger to themselves may be involuntarily committed.

An order for involuntary commitment must be issued within 72 hours, and the hearing itself must be held in no more than 20 days.  The individual who is the subject of an involuntary commitment hearing has the right to an attorney to represent her in the commitment proceedings. The existence of involuntary commitment proceedings does not mean that an individual has been adjudicated incapacitated, nor does it mean that her rights, such as the right to bear arms, the right to drive, the right to have visitors, to receive medical treatment, and to fresh air and exercise, are removed or restricted.  The only mechanism to restrict these rights is to obtain a guardianship order from the Superior Court, which is an entirely different proceeding governed by different rules.

By law, the State of New Jersey is required to bear ninety percent of the cost of an involuntary commitment, leaving the remaining ten percent to be borne by the involuntarily committed individual. The financial evaluation process is undertaken by the county adjuster’s office. If it is determined that the individual can afford to pay for the cost of their psychiatric care, the county adjuster seeks a court order requiring the individual to pay for the cost of psychiatric care, which can impose a heavy financial burden on the former patient.

It is important to know that hospitals and the county adjuster’s office are required to follow strict regulations in collection matters arising from emergency hospital admissions and psychiatric emergency screening services.  Charity care regulations apply where a financially eligible patient becomes involuntarily committed as the result of a hospital emergency room admission. Newton Medical Center v. D.B., No. A-5101-15T4 (N.J. Super. App.Div., January 17, 2018.  The case involved an uninsured patient who was admitted to a hospital emergency room during a psychotic episode, and was involuntarily committed. After the patient’s release, the medical center billed the patient the sum of $65,000 bill for the eleven days of care, reduced the bill due to the patient’s lack of insurance, and attempted to collect on the reduced bill. At the trial level, the Court entered summary judgment in favor of the hospital.  The Appellate Division reversed the trial judge’s decision, ruling that the hospital could not recover from the former patient, because it did not contact the patient as required by the charity care regulations.

Questions? Let Jane know.

Jane Fearn-Zimmer is an Elder and Disability Law, Taxation, and Trusts and Estates attorney. She dedicates her practice to serving clients in the areas of elder and disability law, special needs planning, asset protection, tax and estate planning and estate administration. She also serves as Chair of the Elder & Disability Law section of the NJSBA.

New Jersey ABLE Program Offers a New Savings Option for the Disabled

On By Jane Fearn-Zimmer, Esq.In Disability Law1 Comment

ABLE Program in New JerseyEarlier this month, New Jersey joined the list of states with an ABLE Plan. An ABLE account is a special tax-favored disability savings account designed to help individuals living with a severe disability save and manage their own funds, while protecting their SSI, Medicaid and DDD eligibility.  The account can only be opened in connection with a state ABLE Program. Information regarding the NJ ABLE Program is available online. ABLE accounts are important because they provide a competent disabled individual with an option to preserve their continued eligibility for Medicaid, SSI, SNAP, Section 8 housing assistance, DDD services and other benefits, while saving and investing funds in the account, which they can use to pay for qualified disability expenses.

In 2018, up to $15,000 annually from parents, grandparents, the disabled individual, or anyone else, may be deposited into an ABLE account for a qualifying disabled person. Disabled beneficiaries with their own ABLE account may now fund an ABLE account from their own earnings, as long as they do not participate in an employer’s retirement plan. Alternatively, an ABLE account could be funded through a tax-free rollover of up to $15,000 in funds held in an educational savings section 529 plan. For the rollover to be tax-free, the ABLE account must be either for the same beneficiary of the section 529 plan or for a family member of that individual. If more than $15,000 in funds held in an educational savings plan is rolled over into an ABLE account plan in the same taxable year, the excess over the $15,000 limit is treated as an excess contribution, subject to a safe harbor provision. The ABLE provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 expire on December 31, 2025.

While in the ABLE account, the funds are invested, similarly to funds invested in a 529 educational savings account. The competent, disabled individual can withdraw funds as needed from the ABLE account, at which time, any investment return on the original proceeds would be includible in the gross income of the account beneficiary (i.e., the disabled individual). See IRC § 529A(c)(1)(A). The account earnings and the original return of principal, once withdrawn from the ABLE account, are includible in determining the income of the disabled account beneficiary for the month in question and generally are taken into account in determining the individual’s Medicaid eligibility and SSI eligibility.

However, the funds would not be taken into account for Medicaid eligibility purposes, to the extent that they are offset by any qualified disability expenses incurred by the beneficiary during the taxable year in question. See I.R.C. § 529A(c)(1)(B). That means that funds may be distributed out of the ABLE account directly for a disabled individual, as long as the distribution proceeds are used to pay for qualified disability expenses during the same calendar year. The beauty of an ABLE account is that for income tax and public benefits purposes, the distributions from ABLE accounts are generally excluded from a qualifying disabled beneficiary’s income so long as the distribution proceeds are used for qualifying disability expenses. The definition of qualifying disability expenses is very broad and may include expenses for housing, education, transportation, employment training and support and assistive technology, even if the disabled individual receives SSI.

If the balance on deposit in an ABLE account increase to exceed the sum of $100,000, the disabled beneficiary will lose any eligibility for SSI until the ABLE account proceeds are spent down below the $100,000 limit; however, the funds in the ABLE account will remain an exempt resource for Medicaid.

Upon the death of a disabled beneficiary, any state paying Medicaid benefits during the disabled beneficiary’s lifetime will have a Medicaid lien on the account proceeds. If there are funds remaining in the account after the payment of the Medicaid lien, the account balance may be disbursed to the estate of the disabled beneficiary.

An ABLE account may be an option where there is a qualified disabled beneficiary, whose disability was incurred (and documented) prior to age 26.

For qualified disabled individuals, an ABLE account may also be a good way to “spend down” proceeds from an UTMA or UGMA.

Once opened, an ABLE account is generally portable if the beneficiary moves to another state. State ABLE plans may offer different features and attributes, such as debit cards, online account access, checking accounts, and a range of investment options, such as mutual funds, exchange traded funds, and interest bearing bank accounts.

Questions? Let Jane know. 

Medicaid and Gifts

On By Jane Fearn-Zimmer, Esq.In Elder Law, Medicaid & GiftsLeave a comment

Medicaid in New Jersey

Medicaid will not pay for long term or home and community based care during a Medicaid penalty period. A penalty period will generally be imposed where uncompensated gifts have been made during the five years immediately preceding the filing of the Medicaid application. This period is known as the Medicaid lookback.  The length of the penalty period is computed based on the total amount of gifts during the look back period. Under the current Medicaid divisor, approximately one month of ineligibility is imposed for every $10,000 given away during the lookback period.

Many applicants are unaware that there is a rule, which applies to Medicaid applications filed in New Jersey after May 26, 2010, as well as to Medicaid applications filed in other states, including Ohio, preventing recalculation of the penalty period where some, but not all of the gifts made during the lookback period, were returned. The rule, as stated in New Jersey, is found in Medicaid Communication 10-06 and requires that the penalty period cannot be decreased for the returned gifts unless all of the assets given away have been returned.  This rule can have very harsh consequences, which are illustrated in a recent case from Ohio.

In Paczko v. Ohio Dept. of Job & Family Servs., (2017 OH 9024 (Oh. Ct. App., 8th Dist., Cuyahoga County, No. 105783, Dec. 14, 2017), an elderly woman transferred the sum of $146,122 to a trust, which would benefit her children. She later applied for Medicaid during the five year lookback period. The sum of $89,227.38 was returned from the trust to the elderly woman to pay for her care. She sought to reduce the original Medicaid penalty period computed on the total transfers during the preceding five years, by the sum of the returned gifts.  At the Board level, the Ohio Medicaid agency gave her limited for her returns, and denied her request for additional credit for all of the gifts returned. Her appeal was denied at both the Staff Hearing Officer and Court of Common Pleas levels.

While the Paczko case is not binding on the New Jersey courts, the case is a good illustration of what can happen when there is a partial return of gifts without further planning and a Medicaid application is filed within the five year lookback period. The take away from Paczko is that, in New Jersey, as in Ohio, applicants for Medicaid re well-advised to be mindful of the “no credit for partial returns” rule and to consult an attorney before filing any Medicaid application, or proceeding to a Medicaid Fair Hearing, to determine what solutions may be available.

Questions? Let Jane know.

Gifts and Medicaid: Gifting to Children and Grandchildren

On By Jane Fearn-Zimmer, Esq.In Elder Law, Medicaid & Gifts, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Gifts and Medicaid in New Jersey

Clients often ask me, can they make gifts to their children and grandchildren without a problem concerning Medicaid?  Often, what they have in mind is the $15,000 annual exclusion, which is a federal provision, not a Medicaid regulation. The $15,000 annual exclusion permits a taxpayer to give up to $15,000 away per year without being required to file a gift tax return. Married couples may split gifts and currently give up to $30,000 per person per year if they both agree.

But the federal tax rules and the Medicaid rules are “apples and oranges” in this case. Different rules apply here for Medicaid than for tax purposes. While a gift of less than $15,000 would not require a federal gift tax return, even small gifts, payments of medical and educational expenses of others, and gifts to children and grandchildren and others, of any amount, can jeopardize Medicaid coverage for long-term care for New Jersey residents.  This is because of the rules which apply during the five year Medicaid look back period. If there are any gifts made by the Medicaid applicant within the five years immediately preceding the filing of the applicant’s first Medicaid application, all of the gifts made during that five year period will be totaled and a Medicaid penalty period corresponding to the value of the total gifts will be imposed. Due to the Medicaid penalty period, Medicaid will generally deny coverage for long-term care, for a period of time corresponding to the total amount of all of the gifts made during the five years immediately prior to the filing of the Medicaid application.  Under the current New Jersey policy, even if some of the gifts are returned, the total amount of all of the gifts made during the lookback period can be subject to a Medicaid penalty period. This can have disastrous results on a Medicaid application.

For example, assume that Billy and Sue are husband and wife and they together make $92,000 in gifts to their children between February 1, 2012 and January 31, 2017. If a Medicaid application was filed for Billy in the month of February, 2017, even if $90,000 of the gifts are returned by the children back to Billy and Sue, a Medicaid penalty in the sum of $92,000 can be imposed on Billy and Sue because that was the amount of the total gifts made during the five year Medicaid look back period for Billy.

Fortunately, there are sometimes strategies available to push back against this very harsh result.  When filing any Medicaid application in New Jersey, consulting with an experienced elder law attorney is advised.

Questions? Let Jane know.