(The following is based upon a real discussion that recently took place on an elder law listserv for attorneys. It illustrates the misinformation that is often inadvertently provided to consumers by government agency personnel concerning the availability of and eligibility criteria for needs-based public benefits.) Question: I recently contacted the Veterans Administration (VA) about applying.. read more →
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a new State Medicaid Directors Letter concerning “hospital acquired conditions.” The gist of the letter is that as of October 1, 2008 Medicare will stop reimbursing hospitals for the extra cost of treating certain conditions that, evidence shows, should not occur if treatment in the.. read more →
Federal law allows nursing homes to evict residents for six reasons: they are healthy enough to return home; they require care not offered at the nursing home; they risk the health of other residents or staff; they endanger the safety of other residents or staff; they do not pay their bills; or the nursing home.. read more →
A part of my practice involves mediation and collaborative legal practice. Both mediation and collaborative practice are dispute resolution techniques used as a alternative to litigation to settle a dispute. I believe that settlement, which is a product of mutual agreement, is almost always better than litigation. Settlement involves the principal of self-determination. That is,.. read more →
New Jersey Lawyer (NJL), the official newspaper of the New Jersey Bar, recently took a look ahead to describe the practice of law in New Jersey in the future. The newspaper’s focus was on how the practice of law will change in the coming decade. To describe the future of the law in New Jersey,.. read more →
THE GOAL OF DIVORCE MEDIATION: A “GOOD” DIVORCE A “good” divorce accomplishes 3 objectives: Legal Divorce – ends the marriage or civil union within a reasonable time of the decision to divorce, without high legal fees that drain the family’s finances, and with a minimum of acrimony and fighting. Economic Divorce – separates the marital.. read more →
A bipartisan bill that would freeze the estate tax at the level that will prevail in 2009 under the current law has been introduced in the Senate. The legislation, S.3284, was introduced July 17, 2008, by Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE), Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and George Voinovich (R-OH). The bill would create a lifetime estate tax.. read more →
In the Matter of the Estate of Madeleine Stockdale, the New Jersey Supreme Court considered the circumstances in which it is appropriate to award punitive damages against a party in a court proceeding who has engaged in undue influence in the creation of a will or testamentary trust, or in improperly securing an gift of.. read more →
For a number of years now, elder law attorneys in New Jersey have often achieved success in court applications seeking to reform a support trust established under the will of the parents or relatives of a disabled adult child so that the amended support trust met the statutory requirements of a special needs trust (“SNT”)… read more →
Parents raising children with special needs face significant extra costs for therapies, rehabilitation and specialty medical care, among other costs. A new study found that families with similar demographics and nature of their children’s special needs have different out-of-pocket health expenditures depending on the state in which they live. The study found that wealthier states.. read more →
In probate or guardianship litigation, claims are often made that an elderly parent or family member is incapacitated (or incompetent) and that he or she is susceptible to or the victim of undue influence. Recently, I have been involved in litigation in which the sole claim asserted is that the elderly family member is susceptible.. read more →
I had my first experience with internet radio on July 1st when I was interviewed live on the Focus On Seniors Radio program on wsRadio.com, Internet Radio | Internet Talk Radio Shows, on the subject of Elder Mediation. The title of the program is “What are the benefits of elder mediation?” The program guide described.. read more →
The federal statute concerning the stimulus checks exempts them from being counted as income by any federally funded program like Medicaid or SSI. Further, the checks are not counted as resources in the month of receipt or the following two months.The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a notice on this issue which.. read more →
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) offers a wide range of benefits and services to eligible veterans, members of their families, and survivors of deceased veterans. VA programs include disability compensation and pensions, readjustment benefits, and health care programs. The VA also provides life insurance, burial benefits, housing and other loan guaranty programs, and special.. read more →
In a new published opinion, Burke et al. v. Sea Point Realtors et al., DOCKET NO. A-5652-06T1, App. Div. (May 30, 2008), the Appellate Division of the state’s Superior Court held that a guardian in New Jersey has an affirmative duty to disclose a conflict of interest involving the sale of the ward’s real property.. read more →
NJBIZ is a weekly magazine covering business news in New Jersey. In the June 2, 2008 edition of NJBIZ , the top Elder Law Attorneys in New Jersey were identified by the publication. The selections were based on the total number of elder law cases which the attorney handled throughout his or her career. I.. read more →
Social Security statements now are advising recipients that Medicare does not cover long-term care expenses. The Social Security Administration recently changed the wording of its annual earnings statements at the direction of Congress to make it clear that individuals need to plan for the possibility they might eventually need long-term care. The new wording follows:.. read more →
Nursing homes will get a “star rating” from the federal government to help consumers pick the best facilities. It is expected that this sweeping governmental initiative may create “peer pressure” among owners to improve care. The ratings, from a low of one star to a high of five, will be posted starting in December 2008.. read more →
In a ruling that overturned close to 30 years of legal precedent in the area of family law as well as an appeals court decision that said there is no basis for a palimony suit unless a couple lived together, the New Jersey Supreme Court recently ruled that judges should consider the “entirety” of a.. read more →
A recent article in the NJ Lawyer newspaper examined the safeguards in federal and state law designed to protect elderly, infirm and disabled nursing home residents from involuntary transfers or discharges from their care facilities. According to federal law, a nursing home can discharge a resident only for the following reasons: The resident’s health has.. read more →
Processing times for Social Security determinations have reached intolerable levels. For instance, the average processing time for cases at the hearing level has increased dramatically since 2000, when the average time was 274 days. In the current fiscal year, SSA estimates that the average processing time for disability claims at the hearing level will be.. read more →
A recent article in the Lawyers USA newspaper discussed the growing use of elder mediation to resolve family disputes. The article quoted several practitioners of elder mediation, including the owner of this weblog, on their practice specialties and the use of elder mediation as part of an elder law practice when family disagreements arise. One.. read more →
A federal district court in Illinois denied the state Medicaid agency’s motion for summary judgment in a case testing whether a man with severe disabilities can receive care at home under the state’s Medicaid waiver program rather than in a nursing home. Grooms v. Marah (N.D.Ill., No 06 C 2211, May 30, 2008). David Grooms,.. read more →
The June 6, 2008 edition of the Wall Street Journal included an interesting article entitled “Separate Peace.” It espoused the benefits of divorce mediation and collaborative divorce, particularly where children were involved. Although the article criticized the approach of “normalizing” divorce found in both mediation and collaborative divorce, which the author believed could lead couples.. read more →
The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (“DRA”) authorized the expansion of the Long Term Care Insurance Partnership Program into the various states. New Jersey’s Long Term Care insurance Partnership Program was approved by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) on February 12, 2008 and will become effective on July 1, 2008. Under this.. read more →
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