I had a great time at the 25th annual New Jersey State Bar Association Elder and Disability Law Retreat, held in Bethlehem, PA this year. I reconnected with friends and made new connections. Also, I enjoyed presenting with my colleague Beth Manes, Esq. on the topic of “Supporting and Protecting People with Mental Illness.” ____________________________.. read more →

Donald D. Vanarelli, Esq. (http://VanarelliLaw.com/) will present at the 25th Annual Elder and Disability Law Retreat to be held at the Wind Creek Casino and Resort in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on April 20 – 21 by the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Elder and Disability Law Section and the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education… read more →

Before she died, Dorothy Dreher (“Dorothy”) had her attorney prepare a power of attorney naming her son David as her agent. Dorothy later had that same attorney prepare a Last Will and Testament, which favored her son David over her daughter Rebecca. Rebecca became concerned about David’s actions under Dorothy’s power of attorney, and had.. read more →

On November 18, 2021, the New Jersey Supreme Court entered an Order addressing whether proceedings in state courts should be conducted in person or virtually as the COVID-19 pandemic ends. In doing so, the Supreme Court stated that it tried to balance “the reduced time and cost associated with virtual proceedings” with the benefits of.. read more →

Guardianships and Medicaid Planning – Video 2 On June 15, 2021, I participated in the 2021 Elder Law College given by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education via ZOOM videoconference webinar. I presented a paper and discussed Medicaid planning in the contest of guardianships in New Jersey. Medicaid planning involves the strategic transfer.. read more →

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, millions of professionals and other workers, including lawyers, went from working in offices to working remotely, from their homes, in spare bedrooms, or on dining room tables. Rather than appearing personally at client conferences and court hearings, during the pandemic lawyers met with clients via telephone conferences, deposed adversaries remotely.. read more →

Listed below are the top ten (10) thirteen (13) posts on the Vanarelli Law Office blog with the highest readership in 2020, as measured by the number of “unique page views” of each blog post. The title of each article is hyperlinked to the original posting on the blog so that each article is accessible.. read more →

In this case, a Nashville, TN attorney who posted comments on Facebook with instructions on how to shoot someone and avoid criminal conviction by making it look like self-defense was suspended from the practice of law for four years. In Re Winston Bradshaw Sitton, BPR #018440 Mr. Sitton, the attorney in this case, maintained a.. read more →

Lawyers who claimed that former clients posted false, misleading, and/or inaccurate statements about the lawyer on online reviews asked the Attorney Ethics Board, formally known as the New Jersey Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics (NJACPE), whether they may publicly respond to these negative online reviews. In response, the Attorney Ethics Board stated that lawyers are.. read more →

A federal court dismissed a lawyer’s $1.5 million defamation lawsuit against Avvo, Inc., a website which compiles and maintains an electronic directory of lawyers, for posting a low attorney rating on the internet and false information that negatively impacted the lawyer’s ability to attract new clients. Straw v. Avvo, Inc., 2020 BL 326152, W.D. Wash.,.. read more →

This ethics case stems from a 2007 car accident in which Dennis Hernandez was allegedly struck by a police car from the borough of Oakland, NJ while performing sit-ups in a parking lot. Hernandez sued Oakland, the police department and the officer who drove the police car, claiming he suffered a broken pelvis and broken.. read more →

In 2003, Dr. Robert Binder retained attorney Richard Ledingham to draft a second codicil to a Last Will and Testament and First Codicil. Shortly after Dr. Binder died on August 1, 2011, Mary Kay Binder, decedent’s spouse – who was 88 years old at the time – retained attorney Ledingham to represent her as Executrix.. read more →

21st Annual Elder and Disability Law Symposium Presented in cooperation with the NJSBA Elder and Disability Law Section Format/Skill Level: Meeting Location: APA Hotel Woodbridge, 120 S. Wood Ave Iselin, NJ 08830 Date: December 18, 2019 Time: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM Donald D. Vanarelli, Esq. (http://VanarelliLaw.com/) will present at the 21st Annual Elder and Disability.. read more →

The Law Office of Vanarelli & Li, LLC is committed to providing clients with the highest level of professionalism, compassionate service, personal attention and legal expertise. We provide a broad range of legal services for seniors, the disabled and their families. We guide our clients through the complex areas of elder law, estates and trusts,.. read more →

New Jersey’s Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics (ACPE) considered the following inquiry: May a lawyer insert, or pay an internet search engine company to insert, a hyperlink on the name of a competitor lawyer that will divert the user from the searched-for website owned by the competitor to the lawyer’s own law firm website. The.. read more →

Kansas’s highest court suspended for six months an attorney who, among other things, charged a couple three times the going rate to qualify for public benefits based upon financial need from the Veterans Administration (VA) and Medicaid. In the Matter of Crandall (Kan., No. 117,910, Nov. 30, 2018). A couple hired David Crandall to update their.. read more →

The New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Attorney Advertising previously prohibited lawyers licensed in New Jersey from stating that they are “experts,” have “expertise,” are “specialists,” or “specialize” in an area of law unless they are certified by the Supreme Court or an organization approved by the American Bar Association. Use of these terms by lawyers who are.. read more →

In a comprehensive, published opinion, the New Jersey Appellate Division provided guidance regarding the appointment and functions of a guardian ad litem, this time in the context of a personal injury litigation. While exiting the defendant’s business premises, plaintiff was struck on the head by a falling object and sustained severe injuries. She filed a.. read more →

Reversing decisions of trial and appellate courts, a divided California Supreme Court ruled that judges can’t order Yelp Inc., the online ratings site, to remove unflattering, one-star reviews of a San Francisco lawyer and her law firm posted by a user of the Yelp website who was an angry former client of the law firm… read more →

The American Bar Association Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility recently issued Formal Opinion 480 which opines on the ethics of lawyers blogging and comment on social media. Formal Opinion 480, entitled “Confidentiality Obligations for Lawyer Blogging and Other Public Commentary,” applies existing ethical rules to new online publications such as lawyer blogs. Excerpts.. read more →

From Our Entire Team, We Wish You, Your Family and Friends a Joyous Holiday Filled with Peace, Love, and Prosperity. Best Wishes for a Healthy and Happy New Year! * ♫ * ♫ * ♫ * ♫ * ♫ * We Also Wish to Express Gratitude to Our Wonderful Community of Clients and Cooperative Professionals. We.. read more →

Ohio’s highest court suspended an attorney who advised his client to transfer assets in order to qualify for Medicaid and then lied to the state Medicaid agency about whether the client transferred assets. Stark County Bar Association v. Buttacavoli (Ohio, No. 2017-Ohio-8857, Dec. 7, 2017). Attorney Glen Buttacavoli’s law practice consisted of providing financial-planning advice.. read more →

A joint opinion by three New Jersey Supreme Court committees bans web-based services that match litigants with attorneys run by Avvo, LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer due to ethics concerns. A bar association in New Jersey requested a formal opinion on “whether it is ethical for New Jersey lawyers to participate in on-line lawyer referral services.. read more →

In a recent opinion, the Massachusetts Committee on Judicial Ethics ruled that a judge may ethically maintain a Twitter account as long as the judge complies with the Code of Judicial Conduct and the judge is cautious about selecting accounts to follow on Twitter. The opinion said that the judge requested the Committee’s advice concerning the judge’s continued use of Twitter… read more →

In a major new ethics opinion, the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility indicated that lawyers must take reasonable efforts to ensure that communications with clients are secure and not subject to inadvertent or unauthorized security breaches. Notably, and for the first time, the opinion says that, in some circumstances, lawyers would.. read more →