A New Jersey appeals court recently determined that a Medicaid applicant is not entitled to a fair hearing to appeal the state’s assessment of a one-month penalty period because her representative waited more than three months after the decision to request the hearing. Talarico v. Department of Human Services, Division of Medical Assistance and Health.. read more →

I. Goals 1. Our goal is to create settlement options for the benefit of ourselves and our families; and to minimize, if not eliminate, the negative economic, social and emotional consequences of divorce for ourselves and our families. 2. We will strive to be honest, cooperative and respectful as we work in this process to.. read more →

In an unpublished opinion, the Superior Court, Appellate Division, reversed a trial court’s judgment summarily removing the executrix of an estate and appointing an independent third party administrtor based upon a finding that the executrix and beneficiary did not get along. The appellate court held that friction between the executrix and the beneficiary was insufficient.. read more →

The Elder Mediation Center of New Jersey invites you to explore the practice of Elder Mediation. This program is designed for professionals engaged in the field of aging, including geriatric care managers, social workers, discharge planners, case managers, attorneys and mediators. We will demonstrate how our unique method of Alternative Dispute Resolution is a valuable.. read more →

We at the Elder Mediation Center are thinking of trying out a new banner, to accompany the new look at our Elder Mediation Center of New Jersey website. What do you think? Here’s our new creation: read more →

Recently, New Jersey’s Senate Judiciary Committee signaled bipartisan support for legislation that would require that all palimony agreements be in writing and signed to be enforceable in court. The bill, s2091, would amend N.J.S.A. 25:1-5 by adding a new paragraph stating, “A promise by one party to a non-marital personal relationship to provide support for the other.. read more →

Recently, the Senate and Assembly judiciary committees unanimously recommended passage of legislation that would eliminate alimony and inheritance rights for parents who abuse, abandon, neglect or cause the death of their children. Under current law, noneconomic fault is irrelevant to alimony awards except in egregious circumstances, and the intestate share of a decedent child is.. read more →

A. The Difference Between VA Compensation and VA Pension Benefits. A veteran who suffered an injury or contracted a disease while on active duty, and the injury or disease was the result of the veteran’s service or was exacerbated by the veteran’s service, can receive monthly income from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).. read more →

If a person with disabilities is a veteran, a child of a veteran, the spouse of a veteran, or the parent of a veteran, the disabled person may be eligible to receive benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  Moreover, the receipt of these benefits may jeopardize Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Medicaid.. read more →

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, in a case entitled Weatherbee v. Richman, ____ F. Supp. _____ (C.A. No. 07-134, January 22, 2009), has issued an opinion essentially following the reasoning of the United States Court of Appeals of the Third Judicial Circuit in James v. Richman in a case involving an.. read more →

The Uniform Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceeding Jurisdiction Act (UAGPPJA) has been endorsed by the New Jersey State Bar Association, and is scheduled for introduction in the state legislature for consideration and possible adoption. The Act addresses the issue of jurisdiction over adult guardianships, conservatorships, and other protective proceedings, providing a mechanism for resolving multi-state.. read more →

A new Programs Operations Manual System (POMS), used by Social Security Administration employees to administer the Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs, has recently been issued by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for trusts under the heading “SI 01120.200 Trusts – General, Including Trusts Established Prior to 1/1/00, Trusts Established.. read more →

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has issued a final rule that applies the “preponderance of the evidence” standard, not the “substantial evidence” standard, to decisions made in claims at all levels of administrative review, including decisions made by an administrative law judge. 73 Fed. Reg. 76940 (Dec. 18, 2008) Preponderance of the evidence “means such.. read more →

Retirement Estimator.  The Social Security Administration (SSA) has a new on-line calculator that allows authenticated individuals to calculate estimates of potential retirement benefits in real time, based in part on their SSA-maintained records and in part on information they enter. The Retirement Estimator was released in July 2008. It uses different parameters and assumptions, such.. read more →

17 Jan 2009
January 17, 2009

Legal Podcasting

Blogs and Blogging 0 Comment

A podcast is a series of audio or video digital media files which is distributed over the Internet to portable media players and personal computers. According to Wikipedia, the word “podcast” stands for “Personal On Demand broadCASTING.” Soon after I began blogging in 2008 I began noticing that more and more lawyers who blog were.. read more →

In my years of practicing elder law and guardianship litigation, I’ve become accustomed to meeting with elderly clients and their families who are shocked when I inform them that Medicare, the medical insurance which covers the medical bills of most elderly clients, does not pay for long-term care costs, either at home or in a.. read more →

In spite of all of the complaining that lawyers do about their jobs and clients do about their lawyers, law is far from the worst profession one can have, a recent study finds. Of 200 jobs rated by Careercast based on environment, income, employment outlook, physical demands and stress, the 10 most desirable jobs were.. read more →

There were 6 significant cases decided in New Jersey in 2008 in the area of elder law, the majority of which came out of the administrative arena. That is, 5 of the following 6 cases were issued by the Office of Administrative Law. All of the cases involved elderly clients who engaged in Medicaid estate.. read more →

Simply defined, a trust is an agreement between two people — a grantor who donates funds to the trust and a trustee who manages those funds according to the grantor’s wishes, which are laid out in a trust document. The funds in the trust are typically used to assist a person or group, called the.. read more →

A recent question to the Academy of Special Needs Planners (ASNP) members-only Listserv generated a great deal of discussion about when a trustee can or should exercise discretion in approving payments from special needs trust funds for pornographic materials. The member posting the question asked “Does anyone have an argument as to why the trustee.. read more →

The costs of nursing home care can be deducted on federal individual income tax returns as medical expenses under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) § 7702B because they are considered “qualified long-term care costs”.  However, the status of assisted living facility (ALF) costs has not been as clear. To assist readers, below we have summarized an.. read more →

The Social Security Administration, envisaging the near-future prospect of 10,000 baby boomers applying for benefits every day for the next 20 years, has put together a new on-line service that will allow people to get their benefits without ever traveling to a Social Security field office. “We have nearly 80 million baby boomers coming in,”.. read more →

Attached is a one page summary of the tax benefits of tax-qualified long term care insurance for 2009, from the Corporation for Long Term Care Certification. The information is organized by type of taxpayer, so it is a quick reference for individuals or business owners. read more →

In a sense, it seems arrogant to present a list of “best of” posts when my blog is so new, and I am a novice blogging lawyer . My blog went “live” only about eight months ago, as I posted my first article on April 21, 2008. My blog is part of my website (New.. read more →

After receiving complaints from tenants who received letters telling them that they had to vacate foreclosed premises, New Jersey Public Advocate Ronald Chen wrote to three real estate agencies and their attorneys in December 2008 to inform them that it is illegal to evict any tenant in New Jersey just because the landlord owns a.. read more →