An advance directive for mental health care (ADMHC) is a legal document similar to an advance medical directive which governs end-of-life decision-making. However, an ADMHC is used to express preferences and give instructions in advance to family members and medical providers for future mental health treatment, including medications, voluntary admission to inpatient treatment, electroconvulsive therapy.. read more →
In only the second administrative law case of its kind decided in New Jersey, an administrative law judge (ALJ) recently decided that an annuity purchased by a community spouse with retirement assets formerly held in the community spouse’s IRA was exempt in determining the eligibility of the institutional spouse for nursing home Medicaid benefits. I.. read more →
According to Aspen Publishers, there are seven common mistakes made by elder law attorneys that, though relatively easy to avoid, cause problems for the uninformed practitioner and his/her client. The publisher created a pamphlet entitled The Seven Deadly Sins of Elder Law Practice, which identifies the seven common mistakes and proposes solutions. A summary follows:.. read more →
Here are the ten most common reasons why a claim for benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA) may be denied on appeal, either at an administrative hearing or in Court, as identified in an article by a Social Security attorney in Decatur, GA with 30 years of SSA experience. The article was published in.. read more →
In a case of major importance in the Medicaid estate planning area, the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court held, in N.M. v. Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services, 405 N.J. Super. 353 (App. Div. 2009), certif. den., 199 N.J. 517 (2009), released yesterday, that the value of an annuity purchased for.. read more →
The average time it took to process a claim for benefits with Social Security Administration (SSA) in November and December 2008 was 480 days. The Newark, NJ district (covering northern New Jersey) did somewhat better, ranking 58th out of 447 districts nationwide, with an average processing time of 447 days. Looking only at disability claims,.. read more →
A special court recently ruled against three families who claimed that childhood vaccinations contributed to their children’s autism. The families had requested compensation from the federal vaccine injury fund, which was established to compensate injuries incurred through mandatory vaccinations, after their children developed autism following routine measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccinations. However, the court,.. read more →
The Wall Street Journal recently reported here and here that the new administration has decided to permanently lock the estate tax in at the rate and exemption levels that took effect this year. That change in the law would exempt estates of $3.5 million — $7 million for couples — from any taxation. The value.. read more →
Recently, a Massachusetts trial court upheld a hearing officer’s decision holding that assets which a probate court authorized a Medicaid applicant’s guardian to set aside for legal and guardianship fees are a countable asset for Medicaid eligibility purposes. In Astukewicz v. Executive Office of Health & Human Servs. (Mass. Sup. Ct., Worcester Co., No. 0800395B,.. read more →
Recently, a number of significant decisions have been produced by New Jersey courts and administrative agencies in cases involving appeals from denials of Medicaid eligibility. These new decisions have rendered ineffective many Medicaid planning strategies which attorneys relied upon to help elderly and disabled clients qualify for Medicaid, and highlighted promising new strategies which may be used.. read more →
According to the February 19th Edition of the Kansas City Star newspaper’s online edition, KansasCity.com, people with disabilities are one of the hidden victims of the economic downturn A new study shows that Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) claims have generally increased during the seven recession periods over the past four decades. During 2008, the.. read more →
A recent Social Security case I got involved in brought this issue to my attention for the first time. My client, who had received Social Security disability benefits in the past, had not received any benefits during his incarceration in prison, and wanted to reinstate his benefits now that he had been released. I researched.. read more →
New Jersey allows a deduction of medical expenses, including long-term care insurance premiums, to the extent that they exceed 2% of adjusted gross income. N.J. Stat. Sec. 54A:3-3 New York, on the other hand, provides a tax credit of 10% of the premiums for long-term care policies approved by the Superintendent of Insurance pursuant to.. read more →
The economic stimulus bill, which President Obama signed yesterday, dramatically ramps up spending for a broad array of social programs for needy and disabled Americans. The bill raises federal spending for schools that serve largely low-income students from $14 billion to more than $27 billion. Federal support for special education, an area where local school.. read more →
The House of Representatives has passed the Elder Abuse Victims Act of 2009 (H.R. 448). The bill authorizes funding “to protect seniors in the United States from elder abuse by establishing specialized elder abuse prosecution and research programs and activities to aid victims of elder abuse, to provide training to prosecutors and other law enforcement.. read more →
(I am happy to welcome my friend and colleague Eileen A. Kohutis, Ph. D. to Vanarelli & Li, LLC Blog as a guest blogger. Eileen is a psychologist in private practice in Livingston and Liberty Corner, New Jersey. Eileen and I met last year when we were both helping to form the Central Jersey Collaborative.. read more →
A new Supreme Court decision illustrates the importance of making sure your beneficiary designations are up-to-date. The Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that a plan administrator properly distributed benefits under an ERISA pension plan to a deceased participant’s ex-spouse, as she was the only designated beneficiary, even though she had waived her interest in plan.. read more →
In the ec-v-division-of-medical-assistance-and-heath-services case, the petitioner E.C. was a 67 year old physically and developmentally disabled woman who resided in a nursing home. Both of her parents were deceased. The parents had established testamentary trusts in both of their wills for the benefit of E.C. and her two brothers. The trusts gave discretion to the trustees.. read more →
New Jersey will receive an additional $2.2 billion for its Medicaid program under the stimulus package emerging from Congress, providing a financial boost to a safety-net program that officials say will face more demands as the recession continues. With the economy battering state revenues, N.J. Health Commissioner Heather Howard welcomed support for Medicaid. “It’s critical.. read more →
The U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed earlier holdings that a conflict of interest exists in long term disability (LTD) cases when the same entity (such as an employer or an insurance company) determines whether an employee is eligible for benefits and also pays these benefits to the employee. In metropolitan-life-insurance-company-v-glenn, 128 S.Ct. 2343 (2008), the.. read more →
On January 31, 2009, the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education hosted the annual Family Law Symposium, a “must attend” annual learning event for family law attorneys practicing in New Jersey. One of the speakers at the Symposium presented his list of the “top 10 family law cases decided in 2008.” I thought that the selections.. read more →
The Social Security Act (Act) provides a streamlined process for an attorney to obtain approval of the fee he or she wishes to charge for representing a claimant before the Social Security Administration (SSA) in claims for Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits. To use that process, the attorney and the claimant must agree,.. read more →
The ABA Section of Dispute Resolution Ethics Committee has created a national clearinghouse for mediator ethics opinions and decisions. The clearinghouse provides a searchable database with hundreds of opinions on mediator ethics. It includes public domain opinions from 43 states, thus providing the first place to consult for ethical guidance on the practice of mediation… read more →
The Senate Judiciary Committee recently approved bipartisan-sponsored legislation that would require all palimony agreements to be in writing and signed in order to be enforceable. The bill, S-2091, amends N.J.S.A. 25:1-5, which already requires that prenuptial agreements be put into writing, to include palimony agreements. It adds a new paragraph “h” stating: “A promise by.. read more →
A recent article on the MSNBC website entitled More Couples Seeking Kinder, Gentler Divorces reports on an interesting study which compares the costs involved in mediated, collaborative and litigated divorces. The study was prepared by the Boston Law Collaborative, a law firm in Boston where the staff includes a psychologist and a financial planner. It.. read more →
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