John F. McGrail, Jr. died intestate in 2016. His uncle, William J. McGrail, Jr., then filed a complaint against his nephew John’s estate, claiming ownership of a classic car that was part of that estate. The uncle had entered a nursing home in Maryland in 2009. He claimed that, after he entered the nursing home,.. read more →

Donald D. Vanarelli, Esq. (https://vanarellilaw.com/) participated in the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education’s “2018 Elder Law in a Day” Seminar held on July 11, 2018 at the New Jersey Law Center in New Brunswick, NJ. Mr. Vanarelli provided the “Case Law Update: The Year In Review” – a review of the cases decided.. read more →

The decedent had five children, and his will divided his residuary estate among them. He left 25% of the residuary estate to his daughter Eileen. He also directed that Eileen’s bequest was to include the family home, which was to be a credit toward her bequest; in the event that the “total net estate” was.. 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 veteran in this case had been residing in a medical facility operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for several years. He was incompetent and had no dependents. The veteran had been receiving VA pension benefits based upon financial need. The Director of the VA facility was serving as veteran’s payee. The veteran.. read more →

During his relationship with life partner Marc Coleman, the decedent executed a Last Will and Testament naming Coleman as the executor and primary beneficiary of his estate. The couple later ended their relationship. Thereafter, the decedent entered into a new relationship with Kirston Baylock. The decedent later died unexpectedly. At issue was a hand-written codicil.. read more →

W.M. was admitted to a nursing home in Cranford, New Jersey. In December 2013, W.M.’s wife, E.M., filed a Medicaid application for W.M. with the local Medicaid agency, the Union County Division of Social Services (“the County”). In January 2014, the County requested additional information and/or documents about W.M.’s income, life insurance, and household expenses… read more →

A.F. was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and osteoarthritis in 2007. She also had difficulty walking. Her husband, T.F., was in failing health, with Parkinson’s disease and COPD, and had other mobility issues.  Beginning in 2012, T.F. could not care for A.F. due to his own health problems. T.F. died of lung cancer in 2015. J.F.,.. read more →

In September 2015, Y.M. was declared an incapacitated person, and the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) was appointed as Y.M.’s guardian. Y.M. was a resident of Hudson View nursing home. The month after its appointment as guardian, OPG filed a Medicaid application on behalf of Y.M. After the application was denied, Hudson View filed.. read more →

The decedent was a widow with no family. She had a close relationship with her neighbors. Shortly after a birthday party for the neighbors’ daughter, she handed the neighbors a check for $100, along with a 5-page document the decedent signed using her nickname, “A.J.” At trial, there was no dispute that the decedent possessed.. read more →

The following blog post is adapted from an article on NJ.com: A few years ago, Tracey Mitchell’s dad needed to go into a nursing home. Mitchell had no complaints about the care he received, but three months before he died, a surprise arrived via regular mail. It was a lawsuit alleging Mitchell owed $49,000 to the.. read more →

On January 7, 2016, R.P.’s stepdaughter applied for Medicaid on R.P.’s behalf. At the time, the case worker asked the stepdaughter to supply certain additional information. However, the stepdaughter testified that the caseworker did not give her a written notice requesting information. According to Medicaid, it then sent a February 22, 106 letter to the.. read more →

After suffering a stroke and spending a period of time in a rehabilitation facility, A.K. was discharged to her home, where she spent the following two years prior to moving to a long-term care facility. Her daughter lived with her for the two-year period. A.K. attended a therapeutic day care program. The daughter worked outside.. read more →

The decedent’s will was admitted into probate in Bergen County, New Jersey, after the court found that he was a New Jersey domiciliary at the time of his death. His ex-wife sought to challenge New Jersey’s jurisdiction, claiming that the decedent was a New York domiciliary. The decedent had died unexpectedly in July 2016, during.. read more →

Following their divorce, the decedent, John Garay, and his ex-wife owned a parcel of real property as equal tenants in common. Upon John’s death, the property was owned equally by John’s estate and the ex-wife. The co-executors of John’s estate were two of the Garays’ thirteen children. In 2013, the property was sold to one.. read more →

R.K. transferred her one-third interest in a house she owned jointly with her daughter and son-in-law to her daughter. Less than five years later, R.S. applied for Medicaid, and asserted that the transfer was exempt under Medicaid’s “caregiver child” exception to the rules prohibiting any transfers of assets within five years of the Medicaid application.. read more →

The decedent was survived by her incapacitated son, for whom the decedent had previously been appointed guardian. Following the decedent’s death, there was protracted litigation regarding the estate, a related trust, and the guardianship, which spanned four years. At the conclusion of the litigation, the attorneys involved submitted fee applications, seeking to be awarded payment.. read more →

In 2006, the William Mallas executed a Last Will and Testament dividing his estate equally between his brother and niece. In March 2008, he signed a power of attorney designating his neighbor, Frank Picciolo, as his agent. In November 2008, Mr. Mallas executed a new POA again naming Frank as his agent, and a new.. read more →

Between April 2, 2018 and April 11, 2018, the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, issued six separate opinions involving Medicaid. While this is unusual, what is even more striking is that all six cases involve the same appellate court panel, and the same attorney representing each of the appellants. In these cases, the law.. read more →

After J.C. was admitted to a nursing facility, her son, S.C., submitted an application to the Camden County Board of Social Services for Medicaid benefits on her behalf. The county welfare board notified J.C. that she was eligible for long-term care benefits but her transfer of assets for less than full market value during the.. read more →

A.S.’s nephew and power of attorney designated Senior Planning Services (“SPS”) as A.S.’s authorized representative for establishing Medicaid eligibility. In SPS filed a Medicaid application, which was denied for excess resources on December 10, 2012. After SPS filed a request for a fair hearing but before the fair hearing was scheduled, A.S. died, and SPS.. read more →

There were three Medicaid applications filed on behalf of E.M. The first was filed in 2012 by his daughter, after his admission to a subacute care center. At the time, E.M. was suffering from dementia and was on a ventilator and feeding tube. This Medicaid application was denied for failure to provide documents to Medicaid,.. read more →

D.G. was declared legally incapacitated, and her son was appointed as her guardian. Her son designated an attorney from the firm of Peluso, Castelluci & Weintraub as D.G.’s representative for purposes of a Medicaid application. The attorney filed a Medicaid application in April 2013. In July 2013, D.G.’s son (her guardian) died unexpectedly. D.G.’s daughter.. read more →

After A.S. entered a nursing home, her son T.S. applied for Medicaid benefits on her behalf, listing A.S.’s sister’s address on the application. In June 2013, because the necessary financial information was not provided, Medicaid notified T.S. that the application was dismissed, and that T.S. had a right to request a fair hearing. However, T.S… read more →

On February 1, 2016, a Medicaid application was filed on behalf of W.S. by Hammonton Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare as his authorized representative. On June 21, 2016, the application was denied for failure to provide information necessary to make an eligibility determination. The information outstanding consisted of bank statements from an ING Direct account… read more →