Mediation is generally recognized as a process in which parties in conflict (often on their own, but sometimes represented by separate attorneys) attempt to negotiate a settlement of their dispute with the assistance of a neutral third party, the mediator (who may or may not be an attorney, but who does not represent either party)… read more →
A Superior Court judge ruled that an agent appointed under a power of attorney who is unrelated to the principal by marriage or blood lacks standing to file a lawsuit seeking guardianship of the principal in New Jersey. In the Matter of Costa Nova, An Alleged Incapacitated Person, Docket No ESX – CP – 0196-10.. read more →
A recent amendment to Section 369 of the Social Services law expands the list of assets which are considered to be in an individual’s “estate,” against which Medicaid could make a claim for recovery, to also include jointly held property, retained life estates, interests in trusts and any other property in which the individual has.. read more →
(The following is part of a discussion, taken from a listserv, or electronic bulletin board, concerning benefits available for veterans, their dependents and survivors from the Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA)”.) Question: We just had a veteran denied for pension benefits with Aid and Attendance supplement from the Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA A&A Benefits”).. read more →
A New Jersey appeals court ruled that a nursing home resident who transferred the majority of her assets to her son during the look-back period was ineligible for nursing home Medicaid benefits when she failed to prove the transfer was done exclusively for a purpose other than to qualify for Medicaid. A.M. v. Division of.. read more →
Superior Court Judge Walter Koprowski, Jr. ruled on February 1, 2011 that handwritten notations on a hand-written letter constituted a valid will, although the letter itself did not. In Estate of Randall, the decedent’s cousin, plaintiff Charles Cameron, III, offered for probate two pages of a photocopied letter from 1998, with original marginal notations. The.. read more →
I was named to the Super Lawyer list in 2011 in the area of Elder Law. Elder Law is a legal specialty encompassing a number of practice areas focusing on the legal issues affecting seniors and people with disabilities. The major legal practice areas under the umbrella of Elder Law include estate planning and trust.. read more →
More than in prior years, this year I’ve been focused on preparing “top ten” lists. Regular readers may have noticed this. I think I’ve prepared 6 “top ten” lists in the past few months, summarizing the top New Jersey cases decided in 2010 in the various areas of law that my law firm practices in,.. read more →
The validity of a 1977 alleged holographic will was at issue in the Estate of Inez Bull case, decided on March 10, 2011 by the Hon. Walter Koprowski, Jr., J.S.C. On summary judgment, Judge Koprowski ruled that the holographic will was valid, and admitted it to probate. Inez Bull had drafted a purported holographic will.. read more →
What Is Collaborative Law? Collaborative law is an emerging dispute resolution technique in which each party retains a lawyer, but the lawyers pledge not to resort to the courts (or threaten to do so) to resolve issues. If the collaborative technique is unsuccessful, the lawyers must withdraw, and the parties start over through litigation. How.. read more →
(The following is part of a discussion, taken from a listserv, or electronic bulletin board, between attorneys involved in advising trustees of Special Needs Trusts (SNT). This discussion concerns the appropriateness of distributions from a Special Needs Trust to pay for medical marijuana to be used by the trust beneficiary who lives in the State.. read more →
The decedent, William Walb Jr., executed a will in January 2003, in compliance with the statutory requirements regarding execution set forth in N.J.S.A. 3B:3-2a. The decedent was a widower at the time he executed the Will and had no children. In his will, the decedent left approximately 81% of his substantial estate assets to Albright.. read more →
In January 2011, the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education (NJICLE) hosted the annual Family Law Symposium. This year an overflow crowd of over 700 family lawyers were in attendance, the largest audience to attend any program ever held by NJICLE. One presentation in the Family Law Symposium identified the “top 10 family law.. read more →
(This article is from the February 2011 Edition of the Compensation and Pension (C & P) Service Bulletin published by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The C & P Service website can be found here – https://www.benefits.va.gov/compensation/ ) During the Vietnam era, most naval aviation units were either carrier based or operated out of Western.. read more →
(The following is part of a discussion, taken from a listserv, or electronic bulletin board, concerning benefits available for veterans, their dependents and survivors from the Department of Veterans Affairs.) Question: I have a client who has applied for Aid and Attendance Benefits (A&A) from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The client is moving.. read more →
I. INTRODUCTION Guardianship actions may be contested by the alleged incapacitated person him/herself, or by third parties, such as the alleged incapacitated person’s adult children. Issues raised in a contested guardianship action generally involve whether the alleged incapacitated person is, in fact, incapacitated; and, if so, who should be appointed as the alleged incapacitated.. read more →
(The folowing is part of a discussion, taken from a listserv, or electronic bulletin board, concerning the effect of distributions from special needs trusts to pay home expenses on eligibility for public benefits) Question: Mother and her disabled daughter own their home equally as tenants in common. Daughter receives Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. As.. read more →
The New Jersey Association of Professional Mediators (NJAPM) is an association of professionals engaged in the practice of dispute resolution through mediation. The mission of NJAPM is to (1) foster public awareness of mediation, (2) provide information to the public about mediators, (3) protect the public through standards of conduct for NJAPM mediators, and (4).. read more →
What is the Medical Nexus Requirement? As I wrote in a blog post in 2009, in order to receive service-connected compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), a veteran must meet three criteria: the veteran must be suffering from a current disability diagnosed by a medical professional; there must be evidence in the military.. read more →
An article in today’s Wall Street Journal provides an overview of Elder Mediation that may be interesting to readers of this blog. According to the article, Elder Mediation is taking off as a profession “as baby boomers seek help with aging parents.” From the article, I derived a good, one sentence description of what Elder.. read more →
On January 6, 2011, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) launched an internet website for the VA fiduciary program. The VA states that this launch is only the first phase of the internet site and was designed to provide fiduciaries and other interested parties with information regarding VA’s fiduciary program. A VA fiduciary has significant.. read more →
(The following is part of a discussion, taken from a listserv, or electronic bulletin board, concerning benefits available for veterans, their dependents and survivors from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)) Question: Our client is the widow of a veteran with no savings or other assets who resides in an assisted living facility (ALF). The.. read more →
(The following discussion, taken from a listserv, or electronic bulletin board, is between accredited professionals involved in assisting veterans in prosecuting claims for Home-Bound and Aid and Attendance Pension Benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)) Question: My understanding has been that, when one or more persons are listed as joint-owners on a veteran’s.. read more →
In a published decision, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, ruled that a trial court erred when it applied the doctrine of probable intent to create testamentary special needs trusts for two disabled children of a woman who died prior to finalizing her estate planning documents. In the Matter of the Trusts to.. read more →
If you have a special needs child, you should be familiar with the federal laws and state regulations that outline the educational rights that your child is entitled to. For example, from the age of 3 to 21, a child with special needs enrolled in a public school is often entitled to special services or.. read more →
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