When considering a long-term care plan involving applying for Medicaid coverage, prospective Medicaid applicants and their families should be aware of the Medicaid estate recovery program. Medicaid estate recovery applies to public health care coverage for nursing home Medicaid, community Medicaid, and Affordable Care Act (ACA) programs, if the Medicaid recipient was age 55 or.. read more →

Reproduced from #VetResources, a weekly newsletter for Veterans, their Families, Caregivers, and Survivors: Getting the most out of your VA experience begins with understanding what VA can do for you.  Veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors can use the newly updated VA Welcome Kit to learn about VA benefits and services. The VA Welcome Kit is organized around major life milestones, such as separating from military.. read more →

An application for Medicaid benefits was filed for S.H. by his authorized representative, G.G. On December 20, 2013, G.G. was advised that S.H. was found eligible for Medicaid as of January 12, 2014, but was subject to a penalty period as a result of a transfer for less than fair market value. G.G. was advised.. read more →

The 18th Annual Elder and Disability Law Symposium was held on September 29, 2015 at the New Jersey Law Center in New Brunswick, NJ. As in past years, I presented the case law update at the opening plenary session. This year I presented 30 elder and special needs law cases. Following is a summary of of my.. read more →

New legal ethics guidelines developed by the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section of the New York State Bar Association impose a duty of technology competence on New York lawyers. Although they are advisory in nature, the guidelines state that all New York lawyers must develop appropriate social media skills. For example, Guideline No. 1 recognizes.. read more →

Clients often come to my office seeking a solution to the following problem: the client has lost Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid coverage due to the receipt of Social Security benefits on a parent’s record based upon the retirement, death or disability of the parent. The client asks if it’s possible to continue receiving.. read more →

Vanarelli & Li, LLC is proud to announce that Donald D. Vanarelli, Esq. has been named as a “Super Lawyer” on the 2015 New Jersey Super Lawyers list. This is the 9th consecutive year in which Mr. Vanarelli has been named to the Super Lawyers list in New Jersey. The Super Lawyers website notes that “Super.. read more →

Summary of Presentation: Pensions and Special Needs Trusts Special Needs Trusts (SNTs): Special needs trusts are estate planning devices that are specifically permitted under federal and state Medicaid law, which further New Jersey’s public policy regarding the rights of the disabled. Types of SNTs: Special needs trusts may be “first party” or “self-settled” trusts (“d(4)(a).. read more →

Assets Belonging To Incompetent Medicaid Recipient Discovered By Children Who Had Power Of Attorney Held Countable https://vanarellilaw.com/assets-belonging-to-incompetent-medicaid-recipient-which-were-discovered-by-children-who-had-power-of-attorney-held-countable/ read more →

Fed court in New Orleans awards 7 Virginia families $2.6M damages for homes ruined by sulfur-emitting Chinese drywall. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/chinese-drywall-plaintiffs-awarded-26m/ read more →

New publication by Civil Rights Division of DOJ outlines rights of returning veterans with disabilities under the ADA. http://bit.ly/9LRHVL read more →

New report shows that a lack of financial security is the fearful reality for a large percentage of LGBT older adults. http://bit.ly/aaysPp read more →

Appeals ct reverses attys fee award to Medicaid applicant wrongly denied benefits & removed from facility for non-paymt http://bit.ly/90OIup read more →

Fed ct permanently enjoins NJ imposing ‘never ending” penalty for gifts made by applicants for Medicaid waiver benefits https://attorney.elderlawanswers.com/some-states-still-say-penalty-period-can-never-begin-for-waiver-applicants-8767 read more →

American Assn of Life Underwriters recent report finds “uncertainty remains in the Senate” concerning estate tax reform http://bit.ly/ciXPFY read more →

Rutgers Poll finds 48% of NJ residents support the new health care law, 40% oppose it and 12% are undecided. http://bit.ly/bTY5S1 read more →

My article on the effect of financial exploitation on elder’s eligibility for Medicaid published in the NAELA Journal. http://bit.ly/8Z9iA5 read more →

N. Carolina Bar is first to consider an ethics opinion on cloud-computing or web-based services in legal profession. https://www.americanbar.org/groups/gpsolo/publications/gpsolo_ereport/2012/september_2012/ethics_cloud_computing_lawyers/ read more →

“Flash mob” in South Orange, NJ prompt police to monitor text messages,Twitter and Facebook to prevent future violence. http://bit.ly/diqUcL read more →

Checklist of common early warning signs indicating your child falls somewhere on the autism spectrum. http://bit.ly/9zaIJx read more →

NJ Sup Ct Widens Cleric-Penitent Privilege-Includes Statements an “objectively reasonable” person believes confidential https://www.law.com/almID/1202447896131/ read more →

Dissent Calls Majority Opinion “Indefensible”, Creating A “Kafkaeque Adjudicatory Process” For Disabled Veterans. https://vanarellilaw.com/dissenting-judges-call-majority-opinion-indefensible-creating-a-kafkaeque-adjudicatory-process-preventing-disabled-veterans-from-getting-benefits/ read more →

NJ lags behind most states in processing Social Security Disability claims, taking 16 months before holding a hearing. http://bit.ly/dwYfb7 read more →

Adults with autism-related disabilities are challenged in areas of social life, employment, housing, and health care. http://huff.to/bir1RY read more →

Reality of life for many adults with autism-related disabilities: they live alone,have no job,and limited social life. http://huff.to/bir1RY read more →