When a parent needs care or a family is unsure who can make financial decisions, it helps to have a clear place to start. Willis Law Group LLC assists Jersey City and Hudson County families with elder law, Medicaid planning, trusts, powers of attorney, guardianships, and estate administration.
We help you understand the decisions in front of you, identify the documents already in place, and develop a plan around your family and care needs. Meetings at our Jersey City office are by appointment.
Elder law help for Jersey City families
Elder law connects legal planning with the practical realities of aging. A family may need to arrange care, manage an apartment or other real estate, pay household expenses, and understand an existing trust at the same time. We look at how those pieces work together rather than treating each document as an isolated task.
You may be planning for yourself, helping a parent, or serving as an agent, trustee, executor, or guardian. Our team can discuss the scope of assistance appropriate to your role and explain what information we need before recommending a course of action.
Medicaid and long-term care planning
If a loved one needs nursing home care, the first questions often concern how to pay for it and what will happen to the family home and savings. We assist with Medicaid planning and applications, including situations where care is needed now.
2026 New Jersey MLTSS eligibility
Managed Long-Term Services and Supports (MLTSS) is New Jersey Medicaid’s long-term care program. It requires both financial eligibility and a clinical assessment establishing a nursing home level of care. Services may be available at home or in other approved settings; moving into a nursing home is not required to apply.
For 2026, the individual monthly gross-income cap is $2,982, and the applicant’s general countable-resource limit is $2,000. Resources are evaluated as of the first day of the month. These are MLTSS standards, not the income limits for every Medicaid program. See the state’s 2026 standards.
Income above the cap does not necessarily end your options: a properly established and funded Qualified Income Trust (QIT) can address excess income. A QIT does not shelter savings or eliminate required contributions toward care, and other eligibility rules still apply.
Married applicants may have additional protections. The community spouse’s 2026 resource allowance is generally the greater of $32,532 or half the couple’s assessed countable resources, subject to the ordinary $162,660 maximum and authorized exceptions. This is not an automatic allowance of the maximum. Separate spousal income protections may also apply.
Medicaid generally reviews transfers during a five-year look-back. Gifts or transfers below fair market value may trigger a period without long-term care coverage, subject to applicable exceptions. Review a proposed gift, deed change, or trust transfer before acting. Read NJ FamilyCare’s application guidance.
2026 figures checked October 23, 2026. Eligibility depends on individual circumstances and applicable rules.
Trusts, powers of attorney, and planning for incapacity
An existing estate plan may need attention when health, family relationships, or ownership of property changes. We review wills, trusts, financial powers of attorney, and healthcare directives to help identify gaps and explain how the documents are intended to work.
Our asset protection practice addresses planning options and their limits. A trust is not an automatic solution for every family, and creating one does not by itself complete the work of transferring appropriate assets into it. For broader wills-and-trusts planning, visit our Jersey City estate planning page.
When an adult may need a guardian
A diagnosis alone does not answer every question about a person’s ability to make decisions. We can review existing authority, discuss available alternatives, and advise whether an adult guardianship proceeding may be appropriate. If a family believes someone faces immediate harm, tell our intake team about the urgency when contacting us.
Estate administration and disputes
After a death, families may need help understanding who has authority to act, locating estate documents, and carrying out an executor’s or administrator’s responsibilities. Where there is a disagreement over an inheritance, trust, or fiduciary’s actions, our estate litigation practice can discuss the issues and potential next steps.
Your Jersey City consultation
You do not need every answer before contacting us. Explain what prompted the inquiry, whether there is a care or court deadline, and whether someone already holds a power of attorney or other authority. If available, bring existing planning documents and a general outline of assets, income, and care arrangements.
Attorney Michael Willis is a former New Jersey Special Deputy Attorney General. His elder law and estate planning practice helps families work through legal decisions with clear explanations and practical next steps. Contact our team to confirm consultation availability, arrangements, and fees.
Meet with us in Jersey City
Willis Law Group LLC
921 Bergen Avenue, 4th Floor
Jersey City, NJ 07306
Meetings are by appointment. Please identify Jersey City as your preferred office when scheduling. View the Jersey City office on Google Maps.
Request a consultation
Use the form below to describe your concern and any approaching deadlines. Please avoid sending sensitive account numbers or detailed confidential documents through this initial inquiry.
New Jersey resources
NJ FamilyCare: Managed Long-Term Services and Supports application guidance
New Jersey Courts: establishing an adult guardianship
This page provides general information, not advice for a particular matter. Planning and eligibility depend on individual facts and applicable law. Contacting the firm does not by itself establish an attorney-client relationship.