(The 15th Annual Elder and Disability Law Symposium was held on October 3, 2012 at the New Jersey Law Center, in New Brunswick, NJ. This year, as in the past few years, I gave the case law update at the opening plenary session by summarizing the top ten (10) or so elder and disability law.. read more →
For the past several years, I have represented Thomas Saccone, a retired Newark, NJ firefighter with a severely disabled adult child named Anthony. Anthony lives with his parents, is unable to work, has been found to be totally disabled by the Social Security Administration, and for many years has received Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and.. read more →
A New Jersey appeals court recently affirmed a trial court judgment dividing the assets remaining in a supplemental needs trust established for a deceased adult child with special needs between the child’s parents even though the biological father was a “deadbeat dad,” paying no child support, contributing nothing to his daughter’s medical care and visiting.. read more →
In a recent precedential decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Judicial Circuit held that laws passed by the State of Pennsylvania designed to regulate special needs trusts (SNT) which placed greater restrictions on the SNTs than were contained in federal law governing SNTs “transgress[ed] federal intent” and were preempted by federal.. read more →
The Social Security Administration (SSA) recently revised four sections of the Program Operations Manual System (POMS). The POMS is a primary source of information used by Social Security employees to process claims for Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. Most of the changes to the POMS sections were administrative in nature. However, the.. read more →
In Bond v. Bond, the Appellate Division considered whether a non-custodial parent’s creation of a special needs trust (“SNT”) can justify the elimination of that parent’s obligation to pay child support. Although it concluded that the non-custodial parent “may utilize a special needs trust to take advantage of government programs to lessen the burden on.. read more →
Divorce is never easy, but if a child or spouse with special needs is involved, there are special considerations. At the same time, family law attorneys aren’t always familiar with how to best protect a spouse or child with special needs during a divorce. Elder law attorneys can provide information to family law attorneys who.. read more →
(Below I have reproduced a portion of the legal argument section in a brief we recently filed to support an application asking the court to effectuate the intent of a decedent by reforming a trust created by the decedent into a special needs trust so that the decedent’s surviving adult disabled child could maintain her.. read more →
(This is part 4 of a 4-part blog post on the subject of the assignment of various types of income to a special needs trust. This post discusses the assignment of annuities, IRAs and other retirement benefits to a special needs trust. Prior blog posts on this subject can be found here, here and here.).. read more →
(This is part 3 of a 4-part blog post on the subject of the assignment of various types of income to a special needs trust. This post discusses the assignment of child support to a special needs trust. Prior blog posts on this subject can be found here and here.) Child Support SSI’s treatment.. read more →
(This is part 2 of a 4-part blog post on the subject of the assignment of various types of income to a special needs trust. This post discusses the assignment of alimony to a special needs trust. The first post in this series can be found here.) Alimony and Child Support In a nation with.. read more →
(This is the first of a 4-part blog post on the subject of the assignment of various types of income to a special needs trust. The upcoming posts discuss the assignment of alimony, child support, annuities, IRAs and other retirement benefits to a special needs trust. This first post discusses the public policy background of.. read more →
An aged, low-income tenant with disabilities recently prevailed in a lawsuit filed against the Santa Monica Housing Authority, which had incorrectly increased her monthly rent by counting as income money received in a settlement and deposited into a Special Needs Trust. Sheila Finley v. City of Santa Monica, Case No. BS – 127077 (Superior Court.. read more →
(The following is part of a discussion, taken from a listserv, or electronic bulletin board, between attorneys involved in advising trustees of Special Needs Trusts (SNT). This discussion concerns the appropriateness of distributions from a Special Needs Trust to pay for medical marijuana to be used by the trust beneficiary who lives in the State.. read more →
(The folowing is part of a discussion, taken from a listserv, or electronic bulletin board, concerning the effect of distributions from special needs trusts to pay home expenses on eligibility for public benefits) Question: Mother and her disabled daughter own their home equally as tenants in common. Daughter receives Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. As.. read more →
In a published decision, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, ruled that a trial court erred when it applied the doctrine of probable intent to create testamentary special needs trusts for two disabled children of a woman who died prior to finalizing her estate planning documents. In the Matter of the Trusts to.. read more →
Here are my selections for the top ten (10) New Jersey cases involving Special Needs Trusts / Disability Planning decided in 2009 and 2010. For those cases I previously blogged about, a link to the blog post as well as the case is included below. (1) Special Needs Trust Can Be Established Only.. read more →
A self-settled special needs trust is exempt from being counted as a “resource,” for purposes of determining eligibility for public benefits, pursuant to section (d)(4)(a) of 42 U.S.C. §1396p. (For this reason, this type of trust is sometimes referred to as a “(d)(4)(a) trust.”) Pursuant to this federal law, as amended on August 10, 1993.. read more →
Thomas Saccone is a retired Newark, NJ firefighter. He and his wife’s only son, Anthony, suffers from severe mental disabilities. Tom is a long-standing estate planning client of my law firm. Tom has shown himself to be a devoted husband and father who is relentless in his efforts to plan his estate in order to.. read more →
Lawyers who regularly deal with elderly and disabled clients like I do often confront the issue of client capacity. Under our professional rules, a lawyer may represent a client who has less than full capacity, although a lawyer is precluded from representing a client who lacks capacity. The issue confronting the lawyer involves properly assessing.. read more →
I don’t usually blog about the Social Security cases my law firm handles, although we represent many applicants for Social Security and SSI disability benefits each year. It’s time I remedied that oversight. My firm recently handled a very interesting and complex case for a disabled client which involved the termination of the disability benefits.. read more →
Many third-party and self-settled special needs trusts (SNTs) contain “termination on ineligibility and distribute to family members” clauses. These clauses, called “early termination provisions”, are common trust provisions. When used in special needs trusts, the “early termination provisions” cause the trust to terminate before the death of the disabled beneficiary in order to prevent the.. read more →
Donald D. Vanarelli, Esq., Certified Elder Law Attorney and Accredited Veterans Attorney, was among the 100 attendees of the 4th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Special Needs Planners, which took place March 19-20th in Charleston, SC. Special needs planning is one of the fastest-growing areas of estate planning. Attorneys in the field focus on.. read more →
A growing number of my elder law clients have asked me whether the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) considers assets transferred to various types of revocable and irrevocable trusts in determining eligibility for Improved Pension and Aid and Attendance benefits. The answer depends in large part upon the type of trust into which assets are.. read more →
The following list contains some of the most frequently encountered issues faced by parents of a child with special needs who wish to arrange a secure future for their disabled child through estate planning. Don’t disinherit the child with special needs. Carefully consider the division of assets among all of the children. Understand the differences.. read more →
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