A recent judicial opinion made clear that in deciding who to appoint as guardian, New Jersey courts will look not just at the proposed guardians themselves but at the company they keep. A contested guardianship is one where different people want to be guardian or where the ward doesn’t want a guardian. In the Matter […]
If you are unable to work due to a long-term disability, then you may be eligible for subsidized healthcare (Medicaid), cash assistance (SSI), and other benefits. (For people with developmental disabilities, Medicaid is especially important, as New Jersey’s Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) now requires folks to be on Medicaid to receive adult services.) However, […]
After watching the film Amour, about an elderly gentleman who becomes caretaker to his wife after a stroke, I feel compelled to share some information on powers of attorney. A power of attorney is a legal document in which you give someone power to manage your financial affairs. The person you appoint is called your […]
A committee appointed by the National Academy of Sciences found that the U.S. healthcare system is poorly designed to meet the needs of patients near the end of life, the New York Times reported. For people at the end of their life, our healthcare system provides incentives for doctors to perform complex, invasive, expensive procedures […]
On a warm Florida night in February 1990, Terri Schiavo collapsed in her hallway. The 26-year-old had suffered a cardiac arrest and fallen into a permanent coma. When it became clear she would never recover, her husband sought to terminate life support, while her parents sought to keep her alive artificially. This disagreement sparked a […]
