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!

              1. 2019 Elder Law Fact Sheet | November 7, 2018 | Donald D. Vanarelli, Esq. Blog

Every year the Vanarelli Law Office releases the key dollar amounts on its blog that are frequently used in elder law, estate administration and special needs trust planning, including Medicaid figures, Medicare premiums, Social Security Disability, and Supplemental Security Income.

             2. Governor Signs New Law Helping Residents of CCRCs in New Jersey Get Timely Refunds of Entrance Fees |    August 28, 2018 | Donald D. Vanarelli, Esq. Blog

Although New Jersey required Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs) to repay “refundable” entrance fees, CCRC facilities often held refundable fees for a year or more after a particular unit was vacated, while first marketing and selling new units or other units unencumbered by a refund obligation. Under new law, sequential refund number are assigned to all the available units with refundable entrance feed, and any balance to the resident must be paid based upon the order of the sequential refund number assigned to the unit.

            3. Medicaid Eligibility And The Pickle Amendment | March 30, 2010 | Donald D. Vanarelli, Esq. Blog

Under the Pickle Amendment, an individual who received both Social Security benefits (SSA) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits but became ineligible for SSI due to cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) in the SSA benefit will remain eligible for Medicaid if the individual would continue to be eligible for SSI benefits if the COLA increases in the SSA benefits were disregarded.

            4. Guardian Ad Litem Can Settle Lawsuit For A Mentally Incapable Party | October 28, 2018 | Donald D. Vanarelli,    Esq. Blog

In this case, the appeals court ruled that, although the adjudication of incapacity is not required for the appointment of a guardian ad litem (GAL),.once a GAL is appointed to make a settlement decisions for a party, the GAL “steps into the shoes” of the party and can enter into a settlement agreement on the principal’s behalf.

            5. New Jersey’s New Guardianship Training and Monitoring Program | December 6, 2016 | Donald D. Vanarelli, Esq. Blog

The New Jersey Judiciary Guardianship Monitoring Program (GMP) is a comprehensive statewide volunteer-based court program established to monitor guardians in their handling of the affairs of incapacitated individuals, including elderly and developmentally disabled adults. The GMP monitors guardianship cases to ensure that guardians of incapacitated persons are performing their duties appropriately.

            6. Co-Executors Of New Jersey Estate Must Act In Concert; Unilateral Action By Co-Executor May Constitute Grounds For Removal | January 6, 2011| Donald D. Vanarelli, Esq. Blog

A New Jersey court held that a co-executor’s “unbridled belief she could act unilaterally in administering the decedent’s estate without the need for consent from the co-executrix … [may] amount[] to a breach of the [co-executor’s] … fiduciary duty [and] … [constitute] cause for her removal.”

             7. Supreme Court Rules New Jersey Lawyers May Now Use Terms “Expertise,” “Specialize,” and “Specialist” In Advertising | November 16, 2018 | Donald D. Vanarelli, Esq. Blog

Reversing prior law, on November 8, 2018, the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Attorney Advertising determined that lawyers may use the terms “expertise,” “specialize,” and “specialist” in advertising provided the lawyers can terms are accurate by demonstrating the necessary education, training, and experience to substantiate such claims.

             8. Get Medicare’s New, And First Official, “What’s Covered”! | January 29, 2019 | Donald D. Vanarelli, Esq. Blog

Medicare’s free “What’s Covered” app, the only official U.S. government Medicare app, allows you to see whether Medicare covers your service in the doctor’s office, the hospital, or anywhere else you use your cell phone.

              9. Updates To SSA Rules Governing Disbursements From Special Needs Trusts | February 17, 2019 | Donald D.    Vanarelli, Esq. Blog

This blog post discussed changes in how the Social Security Administration (SSA) evaluates disbursements from special needs trusts.

             10. New Jersey Approves Assisted Suicide Law, Called the “Medical Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act” | March  27, 2019 | Donald D. Vanarelli, Esq. Blog

This blog post discussed the “Medical Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act” which allowed terminally ill New Jersey adults to end their lives peacefully, with dignity, and at their own discretion. This is a relatively new law which permits terminally ill, adult patients to obtain and self-administer medication to end their lives.

For additional information concerning NJ elder law and special needs planning visit:

NJ Elder Law and Estate Planning Services