Several months ago, I presented a program on Veterans Benefits and Social Security Disability Benefits at the Elder Law College, a seminar on Elder Law and Special Needs Law presented each year by the New Jersey Institute of Continuing Legal Education. I wrote a blog post summarizing the seminar material presented at the Elder Law.. read more →
In recent years, applicants for Medicaid benefits in New Jersey have been incorrectly denied eligibility as a result of including as “countable income” the applicants’ Veterans Administration Improved Pension (“VAIP”) benefits awarded pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 1541(d)(1) for unreimbursed medical expenses (“UMEs”). New Jersey’s Medicaid agency, the Department of Medical and Health Services (“DMAHS”),.. read more →
Presentation on the Impact of Elder Law Issues on Divorce Mediation
On Saturday, April 27, 2013, I presented a session on the impact of elder law issues on divorce mediation at the 2013 Annual Divorce Mediation Seminar by the New Jersey Association of Professional Mediators. The topics covered in my session included Social Security, including retirement, disability and survivors benefits, Supplemental Security Income benefits, Medicare, Medicaid,.. read more →
In a contested guardianship, the guardianship applicant often wishes to pursue additional claims involving the validity of a Last Will and Testament or other estate documents purportedly executed by the alleged incapacitated person at or before the time the guardianship action was filed. In such cases, plaintiffs often claim that the Last Will and Testament.. read more →
In a decision that could have a big impact on all bloggers in New Jersey, a New Jersey trial judge ruled a self-declared “citizen watchdog” blogger has the same legal protections as a professional journalist. In re January 11, 2013 Subpoena by the Grand Jury of Union County, New Jersey, Prosecutor’s Docket No. 12 – 0001. Plaintiff,.. read more →
Continuing Care Retirement Communities (“CCRCs”) are considered “a viable choice for relatively healthy seniors with upper-middle-class or upper-class incomes.” Begley, T. and Barrett, C., Representing the Elderly or Disabled Client, ¶9.03 at 9-10 (Thomson Reuters 2013). As described in a GAO report entitled “Older Americans: Continuing Care Retirement Communities Can Provide Benefits, but Not Without.. read more →
When a party believes that the decedent’s estate was depleted prior to his or her death as a result of gifts allegedly made by the decedent, an improvident gift claim may be asserted. In contrast to testamentary dispositions, in which both a confidential relationship and suspicious circumstances are required to raise a presumption of undue.. read more →
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is causing Medicaid applicants to be incorrectly denied benefits due to the way the federal agency is reporting the VA pension benefit to state agencies for the purpose of determining Medicaid eligibility. In that regard, the VA is issuing letters to state Medicaid agencies which breakdown the VA benefit.. read more →
When I started blogging in 2008, I reviewed many other law blogs in New Jersey and elsewhere in an effort to understand what blogging was all about, who else was blogging, and what subjects were covered by other blogging lawyers. I also tried to compile a list of the top 10 elder and special needs.. read more →
In the New Jersey Advance Directives for Health Care Act, N.J.S.A. 26:2H-53 et seq., the State of New Jersey recognized that a competent adult has a statutory right to plan ahead for health care decisions through the execution of advance medical directives, and to have the wishes expressed in those documents respected. A more recent.. read more →
Recently, the New Jersey Supreme Court granted a Petition for Certification I filed asking the Court to review a decision of the appellate division denying a request by my client, a retired fireman, to designate as beneficiary of his public pension death benefits a special needs trust he established in his Last Will and Testament. This.. read more →
Vanarelli & Li, LLC is proud to announce that two professionals in the firm have been named to the 2013 Super Lawyer List in New Jersey. Partner Donald D. Vanarelli has been named to the 2013 Super Lawyer List in three practice areas: Elder Law, Estate Planning and Probate, and Estate and Trust Litigation. Associate.. read more →
Earlier this month, Hon. Robert P. Contillo, Presiding Judge of the Chancery Division, Bergen County, New Jersey, set aside a decedent’s Last Will and Testament, ruling that the Will was the result of undue influence by one of her adult children who was the principal beneficiary of the will. In doing so, Judge Contillo made.. read more →
On June 27, 2013, attorney Donald D. Vanarelli will be moderating a panel of speakers at a seminar sponsored by New Jersey’s Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE) entitled “Special Needs Trusts: Key Strategies for Successful Planning and Administration.” A distinguished panel of estate and elder law practitioners will speak at the ICLE seminar: Dana.. read more →
On March 25, 2013, attorney Donald D. Vanarelli will be addressing the Office of the Ombudsman for the Institutionalized Elderly on the topic of Elder Mediation / Negotiation Skills at the Ombudsman’s Quarterly Regional Meeting held in Freehold, New Jersey. In attendance will be NJ’s State Ombudsman, Jim McCracken, his investigative staff and Volunteer Advocates. .. read more →
In August, the VA’s inspector general said the weight of paper files at the agency’s Winston-Salem, N.C., office had compromised the structural integrity of the building. Photo Credit: Office of the Inspector General/Department of Veterans Affairs and the Center for Investigative Reporting read more →
In Estate of Mendonca v. DaSilva, Docket No. A3515-11T2 (App. Div. Feb. 22, 2013), the decedent, Ricardo Mendonca died intestate as a result of an automobile accident. His only heir was his minor son, who lived with his mother in Brazil. Unbeknownst to the minor child’s mother, the decedent’s other family members had filed a.. read more →
In the event of a Medicaid denial as a result of an unauthorized transfer or gift to a third party, one avenue of redress that may be available to a Medicaid applicant is to seek a waiver of the penalty based upon the “undue hardship” exception in the Medicaid regulations. The standards under which a.. read more →
In Stephenson, Personal Representative of Estate of Murry v. Spiegle, Docket No. A-4193-11T2 (App.Div., January 31, 2013), the decedent executed a Last Will and Testament leaving his estate to family members or trusts for family members. The will was prepared by his attorney, William E. Spiegle, III, Esq. Less than two months later, the decedent.. read more →
The New Jersey Supreme Court has directed that the Court’s function in construing a decedent’s will is “to ascertain and give effect to the ‘probable intention of the testator.’” Fidelity Union Trust Co. v. Robert, 36 N.J. 561, 564 (1962) (further citations omitted). This function applies to the enforcement of the testator’s intent regarding testamentary.. read more →
In a November 5, 2010 blog post, I discussed the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division decision in Matter of Sand, Docket No. A-1856-08T1 (App. Div., November 1, 2010). In that case, the appellate court affirmed the trial court’s ruling that the decedent’s daughter’s attempt to set aside her mother’s will, claiming undue influence.. read more →
As I explained in a previous post, the New Jersey Hospital Care Payment Assistance Program, commonly called “Charity Care,” is a state program for New Jersey Residents with low income and resources who have no health insurance and are not eligible for programs like Medicaid and NJ FamilyCare. There are many people in New Jersey.. read more →
In Estate of Peck, the Chancery Division, Probate Part examined a decedent’s testamentary intent regarding the disposition of her foreign property, as expressed in a foreign will, on New Jersey’s spousal elective share statute. In Peck, the decedent had executed a will in New Jersey, directing that her husband receive only his spousal elective share.. read more →
In Matter of Rizzo, the son of an adjudicated incapacitated person appealed from a Chancery Division, Probate Part, Bergen County order that had made the son contingently liable for the legal fees incurred by the court-appointed counsel for the incapacitated person during the guardianship proceedings. The father/ward had no liquid assets; his only asset was.. read more →
In my January 20 blog post, I discussed the time limits imposed under R. 4:85-1 of the New Jersey Court Rules for filing challenges to the probate of a will. In an Appellate Division case decided on January 18, 2013, the effect of an administrator’s fraud on those time limits was addressed, in Matter of.. read more →
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