We are pleased to announce that Donald D. Vanarelli has been recognized as a 2020 New Jersey Super Lawyer in Elder Law. This is the 14th consecutive year in which Mr. Vanarelli has been named to New Jersey’s Super Lawyers list. Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have.. read more →

On September 19, 2019, I presented at the 2019 Fall Conference given by the Aging Life Care Association (Formerly the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers) at the Asbury Hotel in Asbury Park, New Jersey. My presentation was an overview of the various types of irrevocable trusts used by elder law and special needs planning.. read more →

The 2019 “Elder Law in a Day” Seminar: Learn How To Handle Elder Law Issues And Cases Donald D. Vanarelli, Esq. (http://VanarelliLaw.com/) will present at the 2019 “Elder Law in a Day” seminar given by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education on January 29, 2020 at the New Jersey Law Center, 1 Constitution.. read more →

Medicaid is a critical lifeline for many low-income, elderly, or disabled New Jersey residents who, without Medicaid, would have no access to health insurance or to a critical source of funds to pay for long-term care costs or nursing home admission. However, the Medicaid eligibility process is incredibly confusing and tedious. Under the current Medicaid.. read more →

Moses Ratowsky created an irrevocable trust for the benefit of his grandson, Daniel Schreiber (hereinafter the grandson). Petitioners, the co-trustees of the irrevocable trust, filed an application to appoint the principal of the trust to a new special needs trust that would allow the grandson to retain the benefits of the original trust while preserving.. read more →

On April 26, 2019, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a Notice to state housing agencies concerning the impact of ABLE accounts on eligibility for Section 8 vouchers, public housing and a host of other federal housing programs. ABLE accounts were created in 2014 by the passage of the Achieving a.. read more →

Free Seminar “Planning For The Catastrophic Costs Of Long-Term Care”      Wednesday, April  3, 2019   4:00 PM Free Seminar  Law Office of Vanarelli & Li, LLC 242 St. Paul Street Westfield, NJ 07090   Health care issues increase as we age, and become more complex. Please join Donald D. Vanarelli, Esq., Certified Elder Law.. read more →

Top Rated New Jersey Lawyers In 2019 Donald D. Vanarelli has been selected by the New Jersey Law Journal as a Top Rated New Jersey Lawyer in 2019. Mr. Vanarelli, and the other attorneys featured in the list of Top Rated NJ Lawyers, have all achieved the peer reviewed rating of “AV Preeminent” by Martindale-Hubbell,.. read more →

This blog post discusses recent changes in how the Social Security Administration (SSA) evaluates disbursements from trusts, particularly special needs trusts. SSA regulations are published by the agency and compiled in the Program Operations Manual System (POMS). The POMS is a primary source of information used by Social Security employees to process claims for Social.. read more →

(The following blog post is adapted from a summary of this case on the ElderLawAnswers website. Mr. Vanarelli is a founding member of ElderLawAnswers.) A New York appeals court ruled that a lower court erred in ordering the trustee of a special needs trust (SNT) to personally pay various fees and costs associated with the.. read more →

The decedent was estranged from her daughter Cheryl, the defendant, for almost 25 years, but they reconciled shortly before her death, when the decedent was ill. In 1996, the decedent and her husband had executed wills and a trust, excluding Cheryl from their estates. In 2006, the decedent and her husband consulted with a special.. read more →

We are please to announce that Donald D. Vanarelli has been named to the 2019 New Jersey Super Lawyers list for Elder Law. This is the 13th consecutive year in which Mr. Vanarelli has been named to New Jersey’s Super Lawyers list. Of over 85,000 attorneys licensed to practice law in New Jersey in 70.. read more →

After a trial court, expressing its disagreement with the legislative policy underlying special needs trusts, placed only a portion of the net settlement proceeds of a lawsuit brought on behalf of a severely disabled person into a special needs trust and ordered the remaining funds be paid directly to the disabled person, resulting in the.. 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 →

Public Law 113–295, also known as The Stephen Beck, Jr. Achieving a Better Life Experience Act (ABLE Act), was enacted December 19, 2014. The ABLE Act provides individuals with special needs and disabilities to save money for disability related expenses in tax-free savings accounts while preserving their needs-based government benefits. Modeled on 529 college savings plans, ABLE.. read more →

(“The ElderLaw Report: Including Special Needs Planning” is the premier newsletter covering elder law and special needs planning issues. This monthly newsletter keeps legal professionals current with critical developments in elder law and special needs planning, and supplies real-world solutions to the unique legal problems facing senior and disabled clients. The most recent article I prepared for The.. read more →

Trustees of special needs trusts are increasingly relying on “administrator-managed prepaid debit cards,” such as True Link cards, when disbursing funds to beneficiaries.  These cards offer trust beneficiaries greater independence and the ability to get what they need more quickly.  But such cards existed in a regulatory gray area as far as the Social Security.. read more →

My law office presents this Peace of Mind Checklist as a tool readers can use to organize their thoughts about and plans for the future, and to identify the vital estate documents readers need to reach their goals. The law office staff encourages you to share this checklist with others and discuss it with your close.. read more →

    New YouTube Video about the Law Office of Vanarelli & Li, LLC Vanarelli & Li, LLC is committed to protecting the legal rights and financial resources of seniors, the disabled and their families, and families in conflict. We provide legal services in the areas of elder law, estate planning, trust administration, special education, trial.. read more →

The Stephen Komninos’ Law, enacted in 2017, went into effect on May 1, 2018. The new law is designed to protect individuals with developmental disabilities who receive services through the New Jersey Department of Human Services (DHS) from abuse, neglect, and exploitation by caregivers and others, to upgrade crimes committed against such individuals and to.. read more →

The video posted above informs viewers of the legal issues facing seniors, and the importance of seeking assistance with these issues from a Certified Elder Law Attorney. The video also describes the role of the National Elder Law Foundation (NELF) in the certification process. The video that will be aired nationally on PBS affiliates. NELF, a.. read more →

The Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act allows people with disabilities who became disabled before they turned 26 to set aside up to $15,000 per year in tax-free savings accounts without affecting his or her eligibility for government benefits like Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). This money can come from the disabled individual.. read more →

Recently, the Social Security Administration (SSA) published Transmittal No. 74, revising Part 05 of SSA’s Program Operations Manual System (POMS) covering Resource Exclusions in the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Program pertaining to Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Accounts.  In the introduction to the new ABLE POMS, SSA said: Background This transmittal includes the current published guidance.. read more →

A New Jersey appeals court vacated an order approving a settlement and placing it in a special needs trust (SNT), ruling that there was no “meeting of the minds” between the parties. V.M. v. Jersey Shore University Medical Center, (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div., A-0781-16T1, Nov. 3, 2017). LaTanya Murphy and her adult son V.M… read more →

Our law firm has created a number of Legal Guides for our clients and website guests to provide a better understanding of important and oftentimes complex legal subjects. The Legal Guides are offered free of charge. One of the Legal Guides available to the public discusses Special Needs Trusts and Special Needs Planning. Parents of children.. read more →