Elder and Disability Law News for March 2019 from the Law Office of Donald D. Vanarelli
You are invited to attend our upcoming Free Seminar – “Planning for the Catastrophic Costs of Long-Term Care” on Wednesday, April 3, 2019, at 4:00 PM at the Law Office of Donald D. Vanarelli, 242 St. Paul Street, Westfield, NJ 07090. Light food and drink will be served. Please join Donald D. Vanarelli, Esq., Certified Elder Law.. read more →
Congressman John Garamendi, D-CA, recently introduced the Fair COLA for Seniors Act, H.R. 1553, to end inadequate retirement cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) that don’t account for the effects of inflation on older Americans. H.R. 1553 would require a switch to the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E) from the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage.. read more →
Shortly after their father’s death, plaintiff (one of the decedent’s sons) filed a caveat against the estate, based on allegations of undue influence and payments made to his siblings prior to their father’s death. After his brother filed a complaint in the Superior Court, Probate Part to admit the father’s will to probate, plaintiff voluntarily.. read more →
Special Needs Planning News for March 2019 from the Law Office of Donald D. Vanarelli
For additional information concerning NJ elder law and special needs planning visit: NJ Elder Law and Estate Planning Services _______________________________________________ ABOUT DONALD D. VANARELLI Donald D. Vanarelli has been a practicing attorney since 1983 in New Jersey and New York. Don provides legal services in the areas of elder law, estate planning, trust administration, special education,.. read more →
Free Seminar “Planning For The Catastrophic Costs Of Long-Term Care” Wednesday, April 3, 2019 4:00 PM Free Seminar Law Office of Donald D. Vanarelli 242 St. Paul Street Westfield, NJ 07090 Health care issues increase as we age, and become more complex. Please join Donald D. Vanarelli, Esq., Certified Elder Law Attorney,.. read more →
Wayne Lippincott’s widow Anne probated a will dated two days before his death in 2015. The couple had been married 28 years, and each had grown children from prior marriages. Wayne’s children and grandchildren challenged the will, claiming undue influence, lack of capacity, forgery, and failure to comply with the formalities of execution. They sought.. read more →
One-third of Medicare beneficiaries experienced harm or adverse events during a nursing facility stay, and about 60% of those instances were preventable, according to reports from the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Resources. A new 60-page report from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) delves into the steps nursing homes.. read more →
ElderLawAnswers.com is a web site designed for seniors, their families, and attorneys with an interest in elder law issues ElderLawAnswers.com serves two distinct audiences: the public (namely seniors and their families), and elder law attorneys. The site delivers quality information about important issues facing seniors and provides seniors with referrals to qualified elder law attorneys.. read more →
Top Rated New Jersey Lawyers In 2019 Donald D. Vanarelli has been selected by the New Jersey Law Journal as a Top Rated New Jersey Lawyer in 2019. Mr. Vanarelli, and the other attorneys featured in the list of Top Rated NJ Lawyers, have all achieved the peer reviewed rating of “AV Preeminent” by Martindale-Hubbell,.. read more →
In 1990, Irving Helsel established the “The 1990 Irving Helsel Family Trust” (the Trust), which included the “Irving Helsel Family Trust” (Family Trust) and the “Irving Helsel Exempt Trust” (Exempt Trust). He designated his children, Frederic and Bonnie, as beneficiaries of the Family Trust. The Family Trust allowed for distribution of the principal to Bonnie.. read more →
The Social Security Administration (SSA) is proposing regulations which may make it more difficult for people who don’t speak English to qualify for disability benefits. Under planned regulations released February 01, 2019, the SSA would no longer consider a person’s “inability to communicate in English” when reviewing applications, both for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. The.. read more →
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has released a report on financial exploitation of the elderly. The report compiles information from Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) submitted by banks, credit unions, casinos, and other financial services providers. Based upon the SARs, financial institutions have reported that financial exploitation of older adults by scammers, family members, caregivers,.. read more →
For additional information concerning NJ elder law and special needs planning visit: NJ Elder Law and Estate Planning Services _______________________________________________ ABOUT DONALD D. VANARELLI Donald D. Vanarelli has been a practicing attorney since 1983 in New Jersey and New York. Don provides legal services in the areas of elder law, estate planning, trust administration, special education,.. read more →
Judgment Invalidating Incompetent Person’s Last Will And Testament While He Was Still Alive Affirmed In Pre-Death Will Contest
Harry and Jean Sable were the parents of three adult sons, Michael, Don and Barry. Harry and two partners owned a building in Philadelphia where Harry conducted Harry Sable, Inc., a jewelry business. Harry and Jean had wills prepared in 1994 and 1998 with similar provisions. Harry left his entire estate to Jean if she.. read more →
John E. Travers, Jr. died unexpectedly in 2017 at the age of twenty-two. He was unmarried and died without any children, without a will, and without any written directive regarding his funeral or the disposition of his remains. Decedent’s parents, who are divorced, differed on how their son’s remains should be disposed of, and each.. read more →
This blog post discusses recent changes in how the Social Security Administration (SSA) evaluates disbursements from trusts, particularly special needs trusts. SSA regulations are published by the agency and compiled in the Program Operations Manual System (POMS). The POMS is a primary source of information used by Social Security employees to process claims for Social.. read more →
The decedent, Kathryn Parker Blair, had executed a will bequeathing her estate to her siblings and directing that, if any of her siblings predeceased her, that sibling’s share would pass to his or her surviving children. After her brother died, the decedent executed a new will omitting the brother’s child (“petitioner”) as a beneficiary. The.. read more →
In a recent decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that the presumption of service-connection for certain diseases suffered by Vietnam War era veterans applied to so-called “blue water” veterans – those who served on ships in seas off the coast of Vietnam, but did not set foot on land. Procopio.. read more →
MyMobility Plan, a new tool from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, helps older adults plan for future mobility and independence when driving a car is no longer an option. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed the MyMobility Plan app to help older adults take action to maintain optimal mobility, avoid falls, and.. read more →
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is one of the major federal programs that provides monetary assistance to people with disabilities. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a federal program that helps people with disabilities and very low income and assets pay for food and shelter. SSDI is often confused with SSI. Although both programs pay benefits to.. read more →
Elder and Disability Law News for January 2019 from the Law Office of Donald D. Vanarelli
_______________________________________________ ABOUT DONALD D. VANARELLI Donald D. Vanarelli has been a practicing attorney since 1983 in New Jersey and New York. Don provides legal services in the areas of elder law, estate planning, trust administration, special education, special needs planning and trial advocacy, including probate litigation, will contests, contested guardianships and elder abuse trials. Don is.. read more →
Is your medical item or service covered by Medicare Part A and/or Part B? Now there’s a quick way to check! Medicare’s free “What’s Covered” app delivers accurate cost and coverage information right on your smartphone. Now you can quickly see whether Medicare covers your service in the doctor’s office, the hospital, or anywhere else.. read more →
(The following blog post is adapted from a summary of this case on the ElderLawAnswers website. Mr. Vanarelli is a founding member of ElderLawAnswers.) A New York appeals court ruled that a lower court erred in ordering the trustee of a special needs trust (SNT) to personally pay various fees and costs associated with the.. read more →
Nursing Home Resident’s Son Who Filed A Medicaid Application Which Was Denied Did Not Breach Admissions Agreement
A New Jersey appeals court held that a nursing home is not entitled to summary judgment in a case alleging breach of the admissions agreement against a resident’s son based solely on the fact that Medicaid denied the resident’s application due to excess resources. Meridian Nursing and Rehabilitation Inc. v. Skwara (N.J. Super. Ct., App. Div., No… read more →
The decedent was an elderly man with no immediate family. His Last Will and Testament left his estate to a cousin, several charities and individuals, and to two Valley National Bank employees, including the defendant. One of the bank employees refused the bequest as unethical, based on the bank’s Employee Code of Conduct. The defendant.. read more →
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