Sunday, February 8th, has been designated as Autism Sunday, an international day of prayer for those with autism spectrum disorders. Autism Sunday was first held in 2002 during Autism Awareness Year in the United Kingdom. This event is a new way to raise autism awareness around the world: World Church Leaders have sent messages of.. read more →
If you want to achieve optimal results in a mediation or other type of negotiation, you must be organized, know your case well and know as much as possible about your opponent’s case. The Negotiation Preparation Form below, adapted from a similar form in the excellent materials provided by Professor Charles B. Craver in his.. read more →
New Jersey may soon join a growing number of states that issue alerts when a person with Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or similar age-related cognitive impairments goes missing. Lawmakers are considering a bill that would create “Silver Alerts,” community alerts similar to the widespread Amber Alert program that is used to locate and recover missing children. .. read more →
The Benefits of Immediate Annuities An immediate fixed annuity may be the answer for those seeking a steady stream of income in retirement. When you purchase an immediate fixed annuity, you give a lump sum to an insurance company. The insurance company then pays you a set amount each month for the rest of your life… read more →
An executor may block a surviving spouse’s attempts to withdraw assets from a decedent’s estate where the couple was in the midst of a divorce at the time of his death and the transfers would result in unjust enrichment, a New Jersey appeals court recently ruled. The ruling in kay-vs-kay, A-1594-07 (App. Div. January 28,.. read more →
As I reported here and here, federal district and appellate courts in Pennsylvania have ruled that an annuity purchased with a couple’s excess resources and payable to the community spouse is not countable in determining the institutionalized spouse’s eligibility for nursing home Medicaid benefits. Recently, an administrative court, for the first time, reached the same.. read more →
Every year the Internal Revenue Service publishes new rates and tables for a variety of tax exemptions. Here are the 2009 annual estate and gift tax exclusions, effective as of January 1, 2009. 1) The Annual Gift Tax Exclusion is $13,000 in 2009. As a result of the 2009 annual gift tax exclusion, any person.. read more →
The long-term budget plan developed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for rehabilitating veterans in nursing homes, hospices and community centers is flawed and underestimates costs by millions of dollars, according to a Government Accountability Office report released recently, the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The report comes two years after VA announced a “politically embarrassing.. read more →
(I previously blogged about life settlements here, but there’s much more to say about the subject. Thus, I asked my colleague, Joel Kastin, an insurance broker, to contribute an article discussing life settlements, and he agreed to participate. Joel is, therefore, my first guest blogger of 2009. Joel Kastin has been a New Jersey licensed.. read more →
A New Jersey appeals court recently determined that a Medicaid applicant is not entitled to a fair hearing to appeal the state’s assessment of a one-month penalty period because her representative waited more than three months after the decision to request the hearing. Talarico v. Department of Human Services, Division of Medical Assistance and Health.. read more →
I. Goals 1. Our goal is to create settlement options for the benefit of ourselves and our families; and to minimize, if not eliminate, the negative economic, social and emotional consequences of divorce for ourselves and our families. 2. We will strive to be honest, cooperative and respectful as we work in this process to.. read more →
In an unpublished opinion, the Superior Court, Appellate Division, reversed a trial court’s judgment summarily removing the executrix of an estate and appointing an independent third party administrtor based upon a finding that the executrix and beneficiary did not get along. The appellate court held that friction between the executrix and the beneficiary was insufficient.. read more →
The Elder Mediation Center of New Jersey invites you to explore the practice of Elder Mediation. This program is designed for professionals engaged in the field of aging, including geriatric care managers, social workers, discharge planners, case managers, attorneys and mediators. We will demonstrate how our unique method of Alternative Dispute Resolution is a valuable.. read more →
We at the Elder Mediation Center are thinking of trying out a new banner, to accompany the new look at our Elder Mediation Center of New Jersey website. What do you think? Here’s our new creation: read more →
Recently, New Jersey’s Senate Judiciary Committee signaled bipartisan support for legislation that would require that all palimony agreements be in writing and signed to be enforceable in court. The bill, s2091, would amend N.J.S.A. 25:1-5 by adding a new paragraph stating, “A promise by one party to a non-marital personal relationship to provide support for the other.. read more →
Recently, the Senate and Assembly judiciary committees unanimously recommended passage of legislation that would eliminate alimony and inheritance rights for parents who abuse, abandon, neglect or cause the death of their children. Under current law, noneconomic fault is irrelevant to alimony awards except in egregious circumstances, and the intestate share of a decedent child is.. read more →
A. The Difference Between VA Compensation and VA Pension Benefits. A veteran who suffered an injury or contracted a disease while on active duty, and the injury or disease was the result of the veteran’s service or was exacerbated by the veteran’s service, can receive monthly income from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).. read more →
If a person with disabilities is a veteran, a child of a veteran, the spouse of a veteran, or the parent of a veteran, the disabled person may be eligible to receive benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Moreover, the receipt of these benefits may jeopardize Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Medicaid.. read more →
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, in a case entitled Weatherbee v. Richman, ____ F. Supp. _____ (C.A. No. 07-134, January 22, 2009), has issued an opinion essentially following the reasoning of the United States Court of Appeals of the Third Judicial Circuit in James v. Richman in a case involving an.. read more →
The Uniform Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceeding Jurisdiction Act (UAGPPJA) has been endorsed by the New Jersey State Bar Association, and is scheduled for introduction in the state legislature for consideration and possible adoption. The Act addresses the issue of jurisdiction over adult guardianships, conservatorships, and other protective proceedings, providing a mechanism for resolving multi-state.. read more →
A new Programs Operations Manual System (POMS), used by Social Security Administration employees to administer the Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs, has recently been issued by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for trusts under the heading “SI 01120.200 Trusts – General, Including Trusts Established Prior to 1/1/00, Trusts Established.. read more →
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has issued a final rule that applies the “preponderance of the evidence” standard, not the “substantial evidence” standard, to decisions made in claims at all levels of administrative review, including decisions made by an administrative law judge. 73 Fed. Reg. 76940 (Dec. 18, 2008) Preponderance of the evidence “means such.. read more →
Retirement Estimator. The Social Security Administration (SSA) has a new on-line calculator that allows authenticated individuals to calculate estimates of potential retirement benefits in real time, based in part on their SSA-maintained records and in part on information they enter. The Retirement Estimator was released in July 2008. It uses different parameters and assumptions, such.. read more →
A podcast is a series of audio or video digital media files which is distributed over the Internet to portable media players and personal computers. According to Wikipedia, the word “podcast” stands for “Personal On Demand broadCASTING.” Soon after I began blogging in 2008 I began noticing that more and more lawyers who blog were.. read more →
In my years of practicing elder law and guardianship litigation, I’ve become accustomed to meeting with elderly clients and their families who are shocked when I inform them that Medicare, the medical insurance which covers the medical bills of most elderly clients, does not pay for long-term care costs, either at home or in a.. read more →
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