Search Articles

Find Attorneys

Differing State Probate Practices Keep New Jersey Elder in Texas

  • December 29th, 2005

The rules and practices of probate courts, which oversee the transfer of property from people who die or are declared incompetent, vary from state to state. This checkerboard of state practices can leave individuals whose probate issues cross state boundaries in a legal no-man's-land.

Such is the case with Lillian Glasser, 85, whose plight is the subject of an article in the Dec. 28, 2005, New York Times. A lifelong New Jersey resident with a $25 million fortune, Mrs. Glasser is being forbidden to return to her home state until the Bexar County Probate Court in San Antonio, Texas, can decide her fate.

Mrs. Glasser, who suffers from Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, was placed under Texas guardianship while visiting her daughter there. Mrs. Glasser's son and many of her New Jersey friends contend that she wishes to return to her home in New Jersey. Meanwhile, Mrs. Glasser's daughter used her power of attorney to assume control of her mother's wealth. (An investigation by Texas Adult Protective Services found no wrongdoing by the daughter.)

New Jersey is also claiming jurisdiction over Mrs. Glasser. The Middlesex County Board of Social Services has filed a complaint in New Jersey Superior Court seeking a public guardian for her as a resident of that state.

In a Dec. 28 ruling, U.S. District Judge Fred Biery took over part of the complex case, calling the dispute "legal fratricide" between sibling rivals. Biery sent parts of the case back to Bexar County Probate Court where a trial will be held over who should become the guardian of Mrs. Glasser and her $25 million estate. But because the principal parties come from three states, Biery kept control over other issues.

Some states require residency in order for a probate court to have jurisdiction. Other states, including Texas, require only physical presence.

"These cases are popping up all over the country," says Terry Hammond, executive director of the National Guardianship Association. "The combination of the mobile character of society plus the demographics of an aging population combine to create a potentially volatile situation."

In response to a growing number of such interstate disputes, the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws is drafting nationwide probate standards similar to those relating to child custody.

To read the full New York Times article, go to: https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/28/national/28probate.html (Free registration required and article is available free of charge for only one week.)

For an update in the San Antonio Express-News, click here,

Local Elder Law Attorneys in Your City

Elder Law Attorney

Firm Name
City, State

Elder Law Attorney

Firm Name
City, State

Elder Law Attorney

Firm Name
City, State


Last Modified: 12/29/2005
Learn the secrets of estate planning from an expert
ADVERTISEMENT
Medicaid 101
What Medicaid Covers

In addition to nursing home care, Medicaid may cover home care and some care in an assisted living facility. Coverage in your state may depend on waivers of federal rules.

READ MORE
How to Qualify for Medicaid

To be eligible for Medicaid long-term care, recipients must have limited incomes and no more than $2,000 (in most states). Special rules apply for the home and other assets.

READ MORE
Medicaid’s Protections for Spouses

Spouses of Medicaid nursing home residents have special protections to keep them from becoming impoverished.

READ MORE
What Medicaid Covers

In addition to nursing home care, Medicaid may cover home care and some care in an assisted living facility. Coverage in your state may depend on waivers of federal rules.

READ MORE
How to Qualify for Medicaid

To be eligible for Medicaid long-term care, recipients must have limited incomes and no more than $2,000 (in most states). Special rules apply for the home and other assets.

READ MORE
Medicaid’s Protections for Spouses

Spouses of Medicaid nursing home residents have special protections to keep them from becoming impoverished.

READ MORE
Medicaid Planning Strategies

Careful planning for potentially devastating long-term care costs can help protect your estate, whether for your spouse or for your children.

READ MORE
Estate Recovery: Can Medicaid Take My House After I’m Gone?

If steps aren't taken to protect the Medicaid recipient's house from the state’s attempts to recover benefits paid, the house may need to be sold.

READ MORE
Help Qualifying and Paying for Medicaid, Or Avoiding Nursing Home Care

There are ways to handle excess income or assets and still qualify for Medicaid long-term care, and programs that deliver care at home rather than in a nursing home.

READ MORE
Are Adult Children Responsible for Their Parents’ Care?

Most states have laws on the books making adult children responsible if their parents can't afford to take care of themselves.

READ MORE
Applying for Medicaid

Applying for Medicaid is a highly technical and complex process, and bad advice can actually make it more difficult to qualify for benefits.

READ MORE
Alternatives to Medicaid

Medicare's coverage of nursing home care is quite limited. For those who can afford it and who can qualify for coverage, long-term care insurance is the best alternative to Medicaid.

READ MORE
ElderLaw 101
Estate Planning

Distinguish the key concepts in estate planning, including the will, the trust, probate, the power of attorney, and how to avoid estate taxes.

READ MORE
Grandchildren

Learn about grandparents’ visitation rights and how to avoid tax and public benefit issues when making gifts to grandchildren.

READ MORE
Guardianship/Conservatorship

Understand when and how a court appoints a guardian or conservator for an adult who becomes incapacitated, and how to avoid guardianship.

READ MORE
Health Care Decisions

We need to plan for the possibility that we will become unable to make our own medical decisions. This may take the form of a health care proxy, a medical directive, a living will, or a combination of these.

READ MORE
Estate Planning

Distinguish the key concepts in estate planning, including the will, the trust, probate, the power of attorney, and how to avoid estate taxes.

READ MORE
Grandchildren

Learn about grandparents’ visitation rights and how to avoid tax and public benefit issues when making gifts to grandchildren.

READ MORE
Guardianship/Conservatorship

Understand when and how a court appoints a guardian or conservator for an adult who becomes incapacitated, and how to avoid guardianship.

READ MORE
Health Care Decisions

We need to plan for the possibility that we will become unable to make our own medical decisions. This may take the form of a health care proxy, a medical directive, a living will, or a combination of these.

READ MORE
Long-Term Care Insurance

Understand the ins and outs of insurance to cover the high cost of nursing home care, including when to buy it, how much to buy, and which spouse should get the coverage.

READ MORE
Medicare

Learn who qualifies for Medicare, what the program covers, all about Medicare Advantage, and how to supplement Medicare’s coverage.

READ MORE
Retirement Planning

We explain the five phases of retirement planning, the difference between a 401(k) and an IRA, types of investments, asset diversification, the required minimum distribution rules, and more.

READ MORE
Senior Living

Find out how to choose a nursing home or assisted living facility, when to fight a discharge, the rights of nursing home residents, all about reverse mortgages, and more.

READ MORE
Social Security

Get a solid grounding in Social Security, including who is eligible, how to apply, spousal benefits, the taxation of benefits, how work affects payments, and SSDI and SSI.

READ MORE
Special Needs Planning

Learn how a special needs trust can preserve assets for a person with disabilities without jeopardizing Medicaid and SSI, and how to plan for when caregivers are gone.

READ MORE
Veterans Benefits

Explore benefits for older veterans, including the VA’s disability pension benefit, aid and attendance, and long-term care coverage for veterans and surviving spouses.

READ MORE