The Stephen Komninos’ Law, enacted in 2017, went into effect on May 1, 2018. The new law is designed to protect individuals with developmental disabilities who receive services through the New Jersey Department of Human Services (DHS) from abuse, neglect, and exploitation by caregivers and others, to upgrade crimes committed against such individuals and to.. read more →
The video posted above informs viewers of the legal issues facing seniors, and the importance of seeking assistance with these issues from a Certified Elder Law Attorney. The video also describes the role of the National Elder Law Foundation (NELF) in the certification process. The video that will be aired nationally on PBS affiliates. NELF, a.. read more →
A New York end-of-life agency, named End Of Life Choices New York, has approved a new form of advance directive document that allows people to stipulate, in advance, that they don’t want food or water if they develop severe dementia. The new advance directive is called the “Advance Directive for Receiving Oral Food and Fluids in.. read more →
The U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging has released the 2018 Fraud Book, listing the Top 10 Elder Scams Of 2018 based on reports to the Senate hotline. The report is entitled “Fighting Fraud: Senate Aging Committee Identifies Top 10 Scams Targeting Our Nation’s Seniors.” From January 1, 2017, through December 31, 2017, the Senate.. read more →
Although it is common practice to add the name of a family member to a bank account as a convenience, the existence of a “convenience” account can have negative results when that family member applies for Medicaid benefits. In F.J. v. Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services, the applicant’s daughter testified that she opened.. read more →
Before Mr. Trotman was admitted to a nursing home, he resided in a home that he owned. He had difficulty maintaining the home and paying the bills, so his daughter began paying his bills in 2007. In December 2011, Mr. Trotman asked his daughter to assume full responsibility for the property, which then was also.. read more →
The Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2014 (the ABLE Act) enables individuals with disabilities to save money in a tax-exempt account (ABLE account) which can use for meeting disability-related needs with no impact on eligibility for public benefits based upon financial need. The law states that ABLE accounts should “supplement, but not supplant”.. read more →
A U.S. district court ruled that a group of Medicaid applicants do not have a private right of action to sue the state for not issuing Medicaid eligibility determinations with 45 days and that the applicants were not denied due process by the delay. Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, Inc. v. Randol (U.S. Dist. Ct., D… read more →
Kindred v. Clark involves two Kentucky cases, in which family members of deceased Kindred nursing home residents, Joe Wellner and Olive Clark, filed lawsuits against Kindred. They alleged that Kindred’s substandard care led to the deaths of the decedents. In response, the nursing home moved to dismiss the cases, claiming that arbitration agreements barred the.. read more →
The Pennsylvania Departments of Banking and Securities Aging have produced a new seven-minute video on elder financial abuse, focusing mostly on “scam artists.” The video follows: Financial abuse of the elderly has been called the “crime of the 21st century.” The average victim of abuse is a female, age 75 or older, with limited resources… read more →
For additional information concerning NJ elder law and special needs planning visit: https://vanarellilaw.com/legal-services/ read more →
Donald D. Vanarelli, Esq. (http://VanarelliLaw.com/) will present at the “2017 Sophisticated Elder Law” seminar given by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education on August 10, 2017 at the New Jersey Law Center in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Mr. Vanarelli will provide an overview of strategies and tactics which have been used successfully in litigation.. read more →
The needs-based pension program from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a disability benefits program available to compensate veterans for non-service-connected disabilities. Like the VA compensation program, the pension program is based upon disability. However, unlike the VA compensation program, the pension program is also based on income and need, and the veteran’s disability.. read more →
The Social Security Administration (SSA) published two final regulations that will have significant impacts on the disability determination process for those applying for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits and those applying for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits on the basis of disability. The first set of regulations, Revisions to Rules Regarding the Evaluation of Medical.. read more →
A California court of appeals affirmed a jury award against the owner of a construction company who fraudulently induced a special needs trust trustee who was himself disabled to transfer title of the beneficiary’s family home to him, and that the conduct warranted punitive damages ten times the amount of compensatory damage award. Haworth v… read more →
The Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) is a division of New Jersey’s Department of Human Services. The DDD provides public funding for certain services designed to assist eligible New Jersey adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, age 21 and older, to live as independently as possible. The DDD has developed a new resource for families.. read more →
A step-by-step guide to initiating a guardianship action in New Jersey follows. Documents To Be Filed: A guardianship action is initiated by submitting the following documents to the Surrogate for filing, with the required filing fee: Order Fixing Guardianship Hearing Verified Complaint Certification of Assets Certifications of Physician or Psychologist Case Information Statement Each of.. read more →
Special Needs Trusts and Divorce / Part 2: Child Support
(On December 1, 2016, I moderated the first Advanced Special Needs Trust Symposium, an all-day event held at the New Jersey Law Center. In addition to moderating the panel of speakers, I also presented on the topic of the “Uses of Special Needs Trusts in Cases Involving Divorce.” Due to the length of my paper,.. read more →
Special Needs Trusts and Divorce / Part 1: Alimony and Property Settlement Agreements
(On December 1, 2016, I moderated the first Advanced Special Needs Trust Symposium, an all-day event held at the New Jersey Law Center. In addition to moderating the panel of speakers, I also presented on the topic of the “Uses of Special Needs Trusts in Divorce.” Due to the length of my paper, I divided.. read more →
On November 15, 2016, I presented at the Second Annual Caring for Caregivers Conference at the East Rutherford Community Center. The first section of my presentation focused on guardianship law in New Jersey, Public Benefit Basics, and the use of special needs trusts by parents of adult disabled children. The powerpoint slides from the first part.. read more →
On November 15, 2016, I presented at the Second Annual Caring for Caregivers Conference at the East Rutherford Community Center. The first section of my presentation focused on guardianship law in New Jersey, Public Benefit Basics, and the use of Special Needs Trusts by parents of adult disabled children. The powerpoint slides I prepared for.. read more →
East Rutherford’s Access for All Committee Hosts the Second Annual Caring for Caregivers Conference on Tuesday, November 15, 2016, from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the East Rutherford Community Center. At the upcoming Caring for Caregivers Conference, caregivers will be provided with critical information and resources that support the needs of their special needs or.. read more →
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq., public schools must provide children with disabilities a “free appropriate public education.” When a school district cannot provide a student with an appropriate education, the IDEA mandates the school district must reimburse the family for the costs of sending their child.. read more →
Donald D. Vanarelli, Esq. (http://VanarelliLaw.com/) will present at the 2016 Elder Law College given by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education on December 14, 2016 at the Crowne Plaza, located at 690 Route 46 East, Fairfield, New Jersey. Mr. Vanarelli will provide an overview of New Jersey law concerning guardianships and conservatorships. For.. read more →
A U.S. district court denied a preliminary injunction to a Medicaid applicant who sued New Jersey to prevent the state from denying benefits based on her dead husband’s assets. Flade v. Connolly (U.S. Dist. Ct, D. N.J., No. 16-4407, Sept. 23, 2016). Plaintiff, Eileen Flade, was a nursing home resident. On April 12, 2016, plaintiff applied for.. read more →
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