A Rhode Island court removed the co-trustees of a special needs trust established for the co-trustees’ son after the parents, who were getting divorced, commingled trust funds with their own bank accounts and spent trust funds on alcohol and their own rent and groceries. Matthew Goodness was born with cerebral palsy and received a deferred.. read more →
I am happy to report that the owner of this weblog has been elected as the Vice-Chair of the New Jersey State Bar Elder and Disability Law Section. The slate of incoming officers of the NJSBA Elder and Disability Law Section follows: Chair – Bob Brogan Vice Chair & Retreat Coordinator – Don Vanarelli Secretary.. read more →
The elderly and special needs population today faces legal issues that are increasing in both number and complexity. The issues affecting our elders and the disabled include ever-changing laws and regulations governing Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, as well as related issues such as estate planning, disability and long term care planning, guardianships, elder abuse,.. read more →
The founders of the Elder Mediation Center of New Jersey (EMCNJ) presented a program entitled “Elder Mediation: An Ethical Approach,” at the ABA’s Section of Dispute Resolution Spring Conference held in New York City on April 16th. The founders of the Elder Mediation Center of New Jersey are: Marcie Cooper, Marcie Cooper Care Management LLC,.. read more →
A New Jersey appeals court held earlier this month that a Medicaid applicant’s transfer of assets occurred when the checks she wrote were cashed, not when they were written, so the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) applies to the transfer and the penalty period begins when the applicant would have been otherwise eligible for.. read more →
Emotional reactions to the thought of end-of-life decisions prevent many people from planning for their future health needs; nevertheless, it is vital to stress to your clients that “planning now for your future health care is one of the most important acts you will ever do for yourself and your loved ones.” Advance Directives: Your.. read more →
The issue of capacity is a critical threshold issue in the elder mediation process. The legal standard for determining “capacity” varies, depending upon the transaction in issue. For example, testamentary capacity (the capacity to make a valid will), is said to exist if, at the time the will is made, the testator is able to.. read more →
John M. Haynes, one of the founders of modern mediation practice, postulated basic tenets of mediation which are useful to recall when mediating a difficult case: The mediator is the manager of the participants’ negotiations. The participants control the content while the mediator controls the process of the mediation. However, the mediator should take a.. read more →
Earlier this week I was a participant on a panel held at the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Annual Meeting in Atlantic City, NJ. The other panelists were Linda Ershow-Levenberg, Esq. and Brenda McElnea, Esq., both formerly Chairs of the Elder Law Section of the State Bar Association. The topic was “Representing Clients With Diminished.. read more →
It is not uncommon for an elderly or disabled person to entrust his or her finances to a third party. For example, an elder may execute a power of attorney as a simple estate planning tool in order to ensure that his or her affairs are properly handled in the event that the elder is.. read more →
Under its statutory duty to assist claimants, the Veteran’s Administration (VA) is required to assist a veteran in obtaining the evidence necessary for the agency to make a decision on a claim for benefits. In general, VA has a duty to assist a claimant in obtaining all relevant records, to provide medical examinations and, where.. read more →
The Canadian Centre for Elder Law (“CCEL”) is a national, non-profit body dedicated to exploring the particular legal issues which affect older Canadians. The mandate of the CCEL includes research, law reform, and education relating to legal issues of interest to older adults. Today, the CCEL is recognized for its expertise in elder law issues.. read more →
While personal autonomy has long been recognized as a hallmark of modern society, patient autonomy has more recently emerged as a hallmark of modern medical ethics. Lynch, H., Mathes, M. and Sawicki, N., Compliance with Advance Directives: Wrongful Living and Tort Law Incentives, 29 Journal of Legal Medicine 133 (Apr.-June 2008). Federal law now recognizes.. read more →
As opposed to litigation, mediation is a voluntary process in which a neutral third party helps guide the parties in conflict toward an understanding of their dispute; control of family issues and emotions; compromise and resolution of that conflict; and, perhaps, toward a new way of relating to family members. While not typical in a.. read more →
As discussed below, a self-settled special needs trust is a device used to protect funds belonging to a disabled person resulting from, for example, a tort action. An estate planning tool with similar features but important differences may be used to protect a disabled child’s inheritance from a parent: the testamentary supplemental benefits trust. Special.. read more →
A report recently released by the American College of Trial Lawyers Task Force on Discovery included a recommendation that courts should “raise the possibility” of pre-trial mediation and other ADR processes, and in some cases should order their use. The project was conceived because of increasing concerns that problems in the civil justice system have.. read more →
Professionals whose practices are devoted to our aging population are often confronted with older adults who appear to be struggling to manage their financial or medical affairs. Questions may arise as to an individual’s competency, based upon advanced age, physical infirmities and/or cognitive deficits. Understanding the issue of capacity, and the options available to these.. read more →
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) was signed into law by President Obama on February 17th, 2009. As part of the Recovery Act, nearly 55 million Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries will receive a one-time payment of $250 each. To receive a payment, the beneficiary’s address of record.. read more →
A claim for VA compensation or pension benefits is initiated by submitting VA Form 21-526, the proscribed application for benefits, to the agency. See 38 U.S.C. § 5101. In the alternative, any writing submitted to the VA can be an application for benefits since a claim for VA benefits does not have to be submitted.. read more →
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