In this case, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, held that the state Medicaid agency was not bound by an order for separate support and maintenance entered by a Family Part judge in a case filed by one spouse against the other spouse who later applied for Medicaid benefits when the Family Part.. read more →
(From the website of the New Jersey Judiciary) The following is the Supreme Court’s schedule for oral arguments on Feb. 4, 2014. The issues before the Supreme Court are outlined in the Appellate Division opinion in each case. (The following statements of issues on appeal are prepared by the Office of the Clerk for the.. read more →
A federal district court in Western Pennsylvania held that the purchases of single premium immediate annuities with short payment terms by applicants for Medicaid constitute improper transfers of assets even if the annuities otherwise comply with the federal Medicaid laws in all respects. Zahner v. Mackereth, Civil No. 11-306 (W.D. PA, January 16, 2014). This.. read more →
(Recently, I was the featured speaker at a meeting of the New Jersey Association of Professional Mediators. The subject was special needs planning for disabled spouses and/or disabled children in the context of divorce. The brief introduction to the subject given by the moderator follows, which is followed by a portion of the paper I.. read more →
In a recent opinion, Hon. Robert B. Kugler, United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey, denied a motion filed by the State of New Jersey seeking the dismissal of a pending class action lawsuit which my co-counsel, Alan Sklarsky, Esq., and I filed in federal court seeking an injunction barring the State.. read more →
Amicus Curiae Granted Permission To Appear Before The Supreme Court Regarding State’s Refusal To Permit Retired Firefighter To Name Special Needs Trust As Beneficiary Of Pension Benefit For His Disabled Child
On March 13, 2013, the highest court of our state granted my Petition for Certification, in which I asked the Supreme Court to consider the case of a retired fireman and his continuing battle to conduct estate planning for the benefit of his severely disabled son. This is the second time the Supreme Court has.. read more →
The New Hampshire legislature has enacted a new law that allows nursing homes to sue anyone who received an asset transfer from a nursing home resident, and also makes the resident’s fiduciaries liable for the cost of care under certain circumstances. This new legislation became law on July 2, 2013. The law, enacted under Title.. read more →
In this case, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granted summary judgment for plaintiffs in a lawsuit alleging that the State of New York failed to render final decisions following Fair Hearings within the ninety-day period following the filing of Fair Hearing requests as required by federal and state.. read more →
New Jersey appellate court ruled that the state can reduce a Medicaid recipient’s allocated hours of private duty nursing [PDN] because the care he received from his school district and his mother limited the state’s duty to provide services. M.F v. Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services, (N.J.Sup.Ct.App.Div., No. A-1790-11T2, Aug. 21, 2013). M.F… read more →
In an Initial Decision of the New Jersey Office of Administrative Law, Administrative Law Judge Laura Sanders held that transfers by a Medicaid applicant to her adult disabled children were exempt transfers that did not subject the Medicaid applicant to a penalty period. M.K. v. Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services and Somerset County Board.. read more →
New Jersey Supreme Court Rules That Order Awarding Child Support To Disabled Child May Be Modified By Establishing Special Needs Trust For Child
In an opinion that breaks sharply with established practice, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that an application by a divorced spouse to pay child support for a disabled child into a special needs trust should be granted where the proponent shows that it is in child’s best interest to do so. This is a.. read more →
Justice Laura L. Jacobson, a New York trial judge, held that a trustee of a special needs trust breached its fiduciary duty to the trust beneficiary and ordered reimbursement of nearly $180,000 that was misspent on private caregivers, cab rides, and medications that could have been obtained from needs-based government sources. Liranzo v. LI Jewish.. read more →
A federal district court judge in New Jersey granted a Medicaid applicant’s motion for a preliminary injunction, thereby enjoining the State from counting an annuity owned by her husband as an available resource in determining her eligibility for Medicaid. Flamini v. Velez, Civil No. 1:12-cv-07304 (D.N.J. July 19, 2013) Elizabeth Flamini entered a skilled nursing.. read more →
A Medicaid applicant who made payments to her daughter for more than four years and claimed those payments were made to cover the cost of monthly payments for her mentally ill daughter’s rent could not prove the payments were made for a purpose other than to qualify for Medicaid because she did not prove that.. read more →
A federal district court in New Jersey holds that an annuity purchased by the spouse of a Medicaid applicant with the couple’s countable resources which exceeded the resource limit under Medicaid is not a transfer for less than fair market value for purposes of Medicaid eligibility. Carlini v. Velez (U.S. Dist. Ct., D.N.J., No. 12-7290 (JEI/KMW),.. read more →
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has revised its Program Operations Manual System (POMS) to allow first-party trusts to pay for travel expenses incurred by non-beneficiaries in limited cases. In addition, the revised POMS clarifies the rule that payment of some administrative expenses upon early termination of the trust or otherwise, including trustee fees, will not.. read more →
New Jersey appeals court ruled that a Chancery court’s order holding that certain trust expenditures “shall not” act to deprive the beneficiary of any Medicaid benefits should a Medicaid application be made, exceeded the court’s subject-matter jurisdiction because New Jersey’s Medicaid agency, the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services (DMAHS), was the single state.. read more →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
A Rhode Island trial court holds that a niece who signed a nursing home admissions agreement on behalf of her aunt did not sign as a responsible party, and is therefore not personally liable for her aunt’s unpaid nursing home bill. Sunny View Nursing Home, Inc. v. Gorman (R.I. Super. Ct., No. KC 11-0491, Dec. 4,.. read more →
New Jersey’s Medicaid rules are complicated, and seem like they’re always changing. One such change in the rules that occurs on a regular basis is the State Medicaid agency’s amendment to the Medicaid program’s “penalty divisor.” On December 10, 2012, a Medicaid Communication, or notice, was released by the Division of Medical Assistance and Health.. read more →
(I recently 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. A summary of the seminar material is presented below.) VA BENEFITS Veterans and their families should.. read more →
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