In a decision that has been approved for publication, the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit challenging New Jersey’s Medical Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act (the “Act”). The lawsuit, which was brought by a terminally ill resident, a physician, and a pharmacist, attempted to enjoin and.. read more →
Chen Li, Esq. (http://VanarelliLaw.com/) will present on the “New Jersey Probate Process and Executor Duties: Master Checklist with Deadlines” given by the National Business Institute on August 17, 2022 via online seminar. Ms. Li will discuss the probate process in New Jersey including an overview of the duties required of an estate executor. She will.. read more →
Court Dismisses Daughter’s Lawsuit Against Mother’s Estate Lawyer
Before she died, Dorothy Dreher (“Dorothy”) had her attorney prepare a power of attorney naming her son David as her agent. Dorothy later had that same attorney prepare a Last Will and Testament, which favored her son David over her daughter Rebecca. Rebecca became concerned about David’s actions under Dorothy’s power of attorney, and had.. read more →
On November 18, 2021, the New Jersey Supreme Court entered an Order addressing whether proceedings in state courts should be conducted in person or virtually as the COVID-19 pandemic ends. In doing so, the Supreme Court stated that it tried to balance “the reduced time and cost associated with virtual proceedings” with the benefits of.. read more →
A few months prior to his death in 2008, the decedent executed a codicil to his will, in which he appointed the defendant as executor of his estate, and included the defendant as a beneficiary. The defendant-executor was a relative of the decedent, and a New Jersey attorney. In 2011, a beneficiary of the estate.. read more →
Annie Rost died in 2018, leaving four surviving children. Her Last Will and Testament left her sizeable estate to her four children and to various charities. It also contained an “in terrorem” provision that excluded any beneficiary from a share of the estate if they contested the will: Any beneficiary under this, my Will, who.. read more →
Recently, a three judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled in a 2-1 decision that websites for businesses that are open to the public but inaccessible to visually impaired people who use screen-reading software are not liable under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). The.. read more →
Plaintiff, Oliver V. Short III, filed an eight-count, seventy-nine-page complaint and order to show cause seeking to compel the Presiding Judge of the Probate Part, Chancery Division, Union County, to issue a final order in his deceased mother’s probate lawsuit. Plaintiff alleged that the Union County Chancery judge issued a final judgment on December 31,.. read more →
An Agreement to Assist A Nursing Home Resident In Obtaining Medicaid Benefits May Be Legally Binding
An appeals court held that an agreement to apply for Medicaid benefits for a nursing home resident made by the resident’s guardian or family members may be legally enforceable by the nursing facility in which the resident resides. Pine Brook Care Center v. D’Alessandro, Docket No. A-3197-18T1 (NJ Appellate Division, November 23, 2020) In April.. read more →
In response to the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency, the New Jersey Supreme Court has authorized various adjustments to court operations as set forth in a series of nine Omnibus Orders, issued between March and October 2020. After initially authorizing a swift transition from in-person to remote court operation, the Supreme Court authorized an incremental.. read more →
Donald D. Vanarelli, Esq. Will Present At The 22nd Annual Elder And Disability Law Symposium
22nd Annual Elder And Disability Law Symposium The COVID Cloud: Pandemic Practice Tips for the Elder Law and Special Needs Practitioner Donald D. Vanarelli, Esq. (http://VanarelliLaw.com/) will present at the 22nd Annual Elder and Disability Law Symposium to be held via ZOOM Webinar on December 1, 2020 by the New Jersey State Bar Association Elder.. read more →
Judgment Against Adult Child Who Served As Her Mother’s Power Of Attorney And Executrix Affirmed On Appeal
Christine D. Cenaffra (decedent) had six children, two of whom were the parties in this lawsuit. Diane Cenaffra was the plaintiff, and her sister Patricia Stollenmaier was the defendant. Decedent died in 2015. Her Last Will and Testament named defendant as the executrix. Defendant also was her mother’s power of attorney (POA). Decedent resided with.. read more →
A federal court dismissed a lawyer’s $1.5 million defamation lawsuit against Avvo, Inc., a website which compiles and maintains an electronic directory of lawyers, for posting a low attorney rating on the internet and false information that negatively impacted the lawyer’s ability to attract new clients. Straw v. Avvo, Inc., 2020 BL 326152, W.D. Wash.,.. read more →
An Ohio appeals court dismissed a nursing home’s lawsuit to recover a resident’s unpaid fees from his son who signed an admission agreement as his father’s agent under a power of attorney. Village at the Greene v. Smith (Ohio Ct. App., 2d, No. 28762, August 14, 2020). On June 22, 2018, Robert Smith (“the father”) granted.. read more →
Many years after her mother’s death, plaintiff filed litigation against her sister’s husband Howard regarding plaintiff’s late mother’s estate. She claimed that Howard had been managing her mother’s money while she was alive and that, upon her mother’s death, Howard continued to manage that money on behalf of plaintiff and her sister. Plaintiff’s complaint against.. read more →
On June 5, 2020, the Administrative Office of the Courts issued Directive #18-20, allowing trial courts in New Jersey to enter a judgment granting a divorce in default and uncontested cases on the papers without requiring the parties to appear personally before the court. Judges have discretion to schedule hearings in such matters if necessary.. read more →
The decedent was admitted to the defendant facility, Regency Heritage Nursing and Rehabilitation, in 2013. On the admission date, her daughter accompanied her to the nursing home. The daughter alleged that she was separated from her mother and brought to a conference room, where she was presented with a stack of documents to sign. She.. read more →
Yesterday, April 9th, the New Jersey judiciary launched The Judiciary Electronic Document Submission (JEDS) system, an electronic filing system to ease the filing of cases and slow backlogs while the state remains under an extended health emergency. The JEBS system will allow attorneys and litigants who represent themselves to file their papers electronically in most.. read more →
The New Jersey Supreme Court issued its First Omnibus Order on March 27, 2020 extending by 30 days the deadlines for the suspension of court proceedings and other matters in light of the ongoing public health emergency caused by COVID-19. The previous orders involved criminal, civil, family, tax and municipal courts, and suspended civil and.. read more →
Listed below are the top ten (10) posts on the Vanarelli Law Office blog with the highest readership last year, in 2019. After each hyperlinked blog post title, the original post date is included. Check out the list to see this year’s highlights. Our sincere thanks for taking the time to read our blog! .. read more →
Below, in chronological order, is the annual roundup of the top 10 elder law decisions across the nation for the past year, as measured by the number of “unique page views” of the summary of the decision received on the ElderLawAnswers website. ElderLawAnswers is a web-based resource available for those in the public seeking information.. read more →
The New Jersey Appellate Division declared a nursing home’s arbitration agreement to be void based upon the agreement’s “dense and meandering first sentence” of more than 200 words, among other problematic features. Estate of Bright v. Aristacare at Cherry Hill. Maureen Bright was discharged from the hospital to Aristacare after undergoing a second leg amputation. Maureen.. read more →
A nurse’s aide at a senior care facility in southern Minnesota posted a photograph of an elderly patient with on social media with a demeaning and vulgar message did not violate state law meant to protect patient privacy, a state court ruled. Furlow v. Madonna Summit of Byron, Docket No. A19-0987 (Minn. Ct. of Appeals,.. read more →
The patient was age 53 when he was transferred to Kindred Hospital. He had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and bipolar disorder in his twenties. When he signed the arbitration agreement in issue, he had required 24-hour nursing care for the previous 13 years, although he was not cognitively impaired at the time of the.. read more →
The decedent died without a will, and without a spouse, domestic partner, or children. Under the New Jersey laws of intestacy, if a decedent dies without a spouse or domestic partner, the decedent’s “descendants” inherit the estate. A “descendant” is defined to include a “child,” which in turn is defined as “any individual, including a.. read more →
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