On June 23, 2014, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released its report, Financial Characteristics of Approved Applicants and Methods Used to Reduce Assets to Qualify for Medicaid, which Sens. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Richard Burr (R-NC) and Reps. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Trey Gowdy (R-SC) requested. The GAO report confirmed that about 95% of approved.. read more →

In the May 19, 2014 J.P. v. Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services decision, New Jersey’s Appellate Division affirmed the final agency decision of the Director of the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services (“DMAHS”), resulting in the imposition of a transfer penalty on the petitioner’s Medicaid application. After the ALJ had accepted the.. read more →

Effective on July 7, 2014, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is changing its monetary burial benefits regulations to simplify the program and pay eligible survivors quicker and more efficiently. Under the current regulations, VA pays for burial and funeral expenses on a reimbursement basis, which requires survivors to submit receipts before receiving any payments… read more →

71st Semi-Annual Tax and Estate Planning Forum Our country is experiencing a growing number of households in which a parent and an adult child reside together. Census data reveals that the number of Americans living in multi-generational family households is the highest it has been since the 1950s, with a significant increase in recent years… read more →

A New Jersey appeals court upheld a substantial fee award exceeding the amount in controversy for work preformed by law firm in a probate litigation when representing the estate of a man manipulated into modifying his will through undue influence because the wrongdoer’s actions contributed to, and greatly increased, the time and effort required to.. read more →

A federal district court in New Jersey ruled that a Medicaid applicant was not entitled to a preliminary injunction to prevent the State from counting her annuity as an available resource. Matrangolo v. Velez (U.S. Dist. Ct., D. N.J., No. 13-6289 (MAS) (LHG), May 30, 2014). Plaintiff Marie Matrangolo, an 88-year-old woman who has been a.. read more →

In general, an incapacitated person is to be represented in any litigation by a guardian, or “if no such guardian has been appointed or a conflict of interest exists between a guardian and ward or for other good cause, by a guardian ad litem appointed by the Court.” R. 4:26-2(a); Village Apartments v. Novack, 383.. read more →

Hon. Robert B. Kugler, United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey, reversed a denial of an application for Medicaid benefits by ruling that a pension benefit from the Department of Veterans Affairs (“DVA”) may not be counted as income for the purposes of any Medicaid program to the extent that the DVA.. read more →

In the April 28, 2014 Karlson v. Colvin decision, New Jersey’s Federal District Court reversed an Administrative Law Judge and granted a Social Security recipient’s request for waiver of his Social Security Disability (“SSD”) overpayment. Karlson v. Colvin, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58942 (D.N.J. 2014) Under the Social Security Act, if an individual incorrectly receives an.. read more →