I am happy to report that the owner of this weblog has been elected as the Vice-Chair of the New Jersey State Bar Elder and Disability Law Section. The slate of incoming officers of the NJSBA Elder and Disability Law Section follows: Chair – Bob Brogan Vice Chair & Retreat Coordinator – Don Vanarelli Secretary.. read more →
Linda H. Davis wrote an April 4th column in the Washington Post that a tidal wave of autistic children will be entering adulthood over the next 15 years, numbering more than 380,000 people. They will need extensive adult services, including housing, day programs, transportation to and from social programs and jobs, more-than-average medical care, supervision.. read more →
Highly regarded Certified Elder Law Attorney among just five percent of lawyers in state to be recognized with prestigious professional designation. Donald D. Vanarelli, Esq., with offices at 242 St. Paul Street, Westfield, NJ, has been selected as a “New Jersey Super Lawyer” in the areas of Elder Law and Estate Planning in 2009. Mr… read more →
The House of Representatives has passed the Elder Abuse Victims Act of 2009 (H.R. 448). The bill authorizes funding “to protect seniors in the United States from elder abuse by establishing specialized elder abuse prosecution and research programs and activities to aid victims of elder abuse, to provide training to prosecutors and other law enforcement.. read more →
New Jersey will receive an additional $2.2 billion for its Medicaid program under the stimulus package emerging from Congress, providing a financial boost to a safety-net program that officials say will face more demands as the recession continues. With the economy battering state revenues, N.J. Health Commissioner Heather Howard welcomed support for Medicaid. “It’s critical.. read more →
The Senate Judiciary Committee recently approved bipartisan-sponsored legislation that would require all palimony agreements to be in writing and signed in order to be enforceable. The bill, S-2091, amends N.J.S.A. 25:1-5, which already requires that prenuptial agreements be put into writing, to include palimony agreements. It adds a new paragraph “h” stating: “A promise by.. read more →
New Jersey may soon join a growing number of states that issue alerts when a person with Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or similar age-related cognitive impairments goes missing. Lawmakers are considering a bill that would create “Silver Alerts,” community alerts similar to the widespread Amber Alert program that is used to locate and recover missing children. .. read more →
The long-term budget plan developed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for rehabilitating veterans in nursing homes, hospices and community centers is flawed and underestimates costs by millions of dollars, according to a Government Accountability Office report released recently, the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The report comes two years after VA announced a “politically embarrassing.. read more →
After receiving complaints from tenants who received letters telling them that they had to vacate foreclosed premises, New Jersey Public Advocate Ronald Chen wrote to three real estate agencies and their attorneys in December 2008 to inform them that it is illegal to evict any tenant in New Jersey just because the landlord owns a.. read more →
About one in five U.S. residents – 19% – reported some level of disability, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report released recently. Among those disabled Amercians, 35 million, or 12% of the population, were classified as having a severe disability. Some of the important findings in the U.S. Census Bureau report follow: A wide.. read more →
More senior citizens and disabled homeowners now are eligible to receive property tax rebates, thanks to a bill signed by Governor Jon S. Corzine on December 18th. The bill (A-3460), which was signed at the Bergen County borough’s activity center, increased the income eligibility limit for senior and disabled homeowners. Under the bill, income eligibility.. read more →
In a recent study, “Three Phases of Retirement and Planning for the Unexpected,” the Society Of Actuaries (SOA) identified three stages of retirement and offered advice on how to prepare for each stage of retirement. The SOA said that retirement is often depicted as life on the golf course, holidays with the grandchildren, and traveling.. read more →
The next time you must defend the decision either 1) to provide help to families by accelerating eligibility for public benefits based on need, like nursing home Medicaid, or 2) to engage in estate planning to protect yourself and your family from the catastrophic costs of nursing home care, I suggest that you confront the.. read more →
To each of you and to your families, I wish you a rejuvenating, fulfilling, awe-inspiring, enlightening, and fun-filled holiday, with plenty of good eatin’ too, whether that holiday is Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza, Festivus (The Holiday for the Rest of Us) or any other winter holiday that you celebrate! מּוּלּשׁ (peace) ☼ (joy) ♥ (love) ♫♪ ♫♪♫♪.. read more →
Ending months of anticipation, New Jersey’s highest court has struck down Opinion 39, a prohibition on attorneys advertising their selections in Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers in America, Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review and other comparative ratings guides. The Court, in a unanimous ruling on December 17, 2008, agreed with a Special Master who found in a report.. read more →
A U.S. district court in California refused to throw out a case against Merrill Lynch (now Bank of America) alleging elder abuse and breach of fiduciary duty after one of the brokerage’s financial advisors persuaded an elderly client to exchange a fixed annuity for a variable annuity and then annuitize it. Sakai v. Merrill Lynch.. read more →
The The Times Leader newspaper, a daily newspaper located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, recently posted a report on its internet homepage on the James vs. Richman lawsuit. The James case was originally filed in federal district court in Pennsylvania, and concerned an application for Medicaid benefits submitted by Pennsylvania residents. The James case substantially changed the.. read more →
Fresh from their recent electoral victories, Congressional Democratic leaders are vowing to pursue an aggressive agenda when the 111th Congress opens in January. While the ailing economy will doubtless be the top priority, health care will not be far down the list. Over the past year and a half, lawmakers have introduced a number of.. read more →
The recently passed Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (aka “the bailout bill”) temporarily raises the basic limit on federal deposit insurance coverage (FDIC) from $100,000 to $250,000 per depositor. The legislation provides that the basic deposit insurance limit will return to $100,000 after December 31, 2009. “This temporary increase in deposit insurance coverage should.. read more →
The business section of the Star-Ledger newspaper has a recurring feature entitled “Shop Talk” which usually contains a short news story highlighting a local business or community event. In the November 6th edition of the newspaper, Shop Talk featured a short article on the newly-formed Central Jersey Collaborative Law Group and briefly described the collaborative divorce.. read more →
I have a number of speaking engagements scheduled during the first few weeks of November 2008 that may be of interest to readers of this blog. On November 8, 2008, I am scheduled to speak at the Alzheimer’s Association Conference, in Union County College located in Cranford, NJ. My presentation is entitled “Planning for Disability.. read more →
A final rule that would allow more Medicaid beneficiaries to be in charge of their own personal assistance services, including personal care services, instead of having those services directed by an agency, was announced on September 29, 2008 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The rule guides states who wish to allow.. read more →
The word is really starting to get out about the collaborative divorce process! The October 17th edition of the Family Circle Magazine has a GREAT article on collaborative divorce entitled “The Friendly Divorce”. The article identifies four (4) benefits to couples who choose to divorce using the collaborative divorce process: Less Bitterness; Lower Expenses; Quicker Results; and, a Custom Solution… read more →
I am happy to report that, as of September 19, 2008, I am an accredited attorney for “the preparation, presentation and prosecution of claims for veterans benefits before the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).” The purpose of VA’s accreditation program is to ensure that claimants for VA benefits receive qualified assistance in preparing and presenting.. read more →
Medicare’s monthly premium will be unchanged at $96.40 next year for most of the 44 million beneficiaries in the U.S. health program for the elderly and disabled. This is the first time in eight years the rate won’t rise. Medicare fees will stay the same partly because the program’s reserves have increased, according to a.. read more →
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