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Elder Law

Law Office of Donald D. Vanarelli Blog

New Jersey Elder Law, Estate and Special Needs Planning, Mediation and Collaborative Family Law.
By Donald D. Vanarelli

Post Frequency: 5.2/day

Last Entry: July 09, 2009 at 18:18:42

Tidal Wave Of Autistic Children Entering Adulthood Threatens To Swamp Social Service Networks

Posted on April 11, 2009
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 [...

Last Week Senate Voted to Exempt Estates Of Up To $10 Million From Any Estate Taxes

Posted on April 09, 2009
President Bush?s tax cut law passed in 2001, called the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, Pub.L. 107-16, 115 Stat. 38, June 7, 2001 (hereafter ?EGTRRA?) gradually phased out the estate tax by raising the exemption level and reducing the top rate; in 2009, only estates valued at more than $3...

Director of Medicaid Affirms ALJ?s Decision Awarding Medicaid to Beneficiary of Trust Reformed by the Court to Comply with Special Needs Trust Rules

Posted on April 08, 2009
On February 14, 2009, I blogged about the decision of the administrative law judge in the E.C. vs. Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services case. In the E.C. case, the ALJ reversed a decision denying Medicaid benefits to a developmentally-disabled woman in a nursing home whose parents had established testamentary trusts in their wills [...

Estate Planning For Same Sex Couples

Posted on April 06, 2009
In the 2006 Lewis v. Harris decision, the New Jersey Supreme Court held that, although same-sex marriage is not a right guaranteed under the New Jersey Constitution, the equal protection principles of our Constitution guarantee same-sex couples the same ?right to and the rights of? marriage...

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Congress Proposes Tax-Deferred Savings Accounts, called ?ABLE? accounts, for People with Special Needs

Posted on April 03, 2009
A bill that would create tax-deferred savings accounts for people with special needs has been introduced in the House and Senate. If passed, the new legislation would allow family members, friends, or a person with special needs to place up to $500,000 of funds into an “ABLE” (Achieving a Better Life Experience) account that functions [...

Intentionally Omitting Children From Your Will

Posted on April 01, 2009
If a client chooses not to leave his estate equally to his heirs, or even to disinherit one or more of the children from any distribution of estate assets, the client?s estate attorney can take steps now to minimize the risk of a future challenge to the will...

More Companies Eliminate 401(k) Matches

Posted on March 31, 2009
The battle for a secure retirement is about to get even tougher. Several new surveys of company executives show that they plan to reduce or suspend their company’s retirement-plan contributions this year. Dozens of employers in the past year have already slashed such costs...

Overview of the VA Compensation Claims Process

Posted on March 30, 2009
Under the veterans’ compensation benefits system, a veteran, a veteran’s dependents or a veteran’s survivors are required only to submit a “plausible claim” for an entitlement to VA benefits. Once a plausible claim has been submitted, the burden to fully and completely develop evidence to support that claim lies with the Department of Veterans Affairs [...

Social Security?s New Rulings Clarify How The Agency Determines Childhood Disability Under the ?Functional Equivalence? Rule

Posted on March 29, 2009
On February 17 and 18, 2009, the Social Security Administration (SSA) issued a series of eight Social Security Rulings clarifying and updating the SSA’s process for determining childhood disability under the “functional equivalence” rule...

Stimulus Payment for Social Security Recipients to Arrive in May?s Mail

Posted on March 27, 2009
On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (aka the stimulus bill). This law provides for a one-time economic recovery payment of $250 to most Social Security, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries who were eligible under the programs during November or December [...

Shrinking Staff Levels, A Dramatically Increasing Workload And More Complicated Disabling Impairments Lead To An Exploding Backlog Of SSA Claims

Posted on March 25, 2009
According to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office, shrinking staff levels, a dramatically increasing workload and more complicated disabling impairments will lead to an exploding backlog of claims for social security retirement and disability claims...

Westfield Lawyer Donald D. Vanarelli Selected As A New Jersey Super Lawyer for Third Consecutive Year

Posted on March 25, 2009
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...

Frail Elderly Nursing Home Residents Have Become Victims Of Younger, Stronger and Dangerous Mentally Ill

Posted on March 25, 2009
Over the past several years, nursing homes have become dumping grounds for young and middle-age people with mental illness, according to Associated Press interviews and an analysis of data from all 50 states. And that has proved a prescription for violence, as Jackson’s case and others across the country illustrate...

NJ Senate Approves Palimony in Writing Legislation

Posted on March 23, 2009
Earlier this month, the state Senate approved, by a vote of 21-14, 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...

Pew Research Center Issues Its Bleakest-Ever Report On The State Of The News Media in the United States

Posted on March 22, 2009
The Pew Research Center?s Project for Excellence in Journalism, a nonpolitical, nonpartisan research institute, recently published its Sixth Annual Report on the State of the News Media in the United States. The Project editor called it ?the bleakest report ever issued...

Deirdre Wheatley-Liss, Local Attorney, Named to New Jersey?s Best 50 Women in Business

Posted on March 21, 2009
Congratulations to my colleague, Deirdre Wheatley-Liss, on being chosen as one of New Jersey?s 50 Best Women in Business by NJBIZ magazine. Here is a press release about the achievement. I know of at least three of Deirdre?s achievements: she has earned an LLM in taxation from NYU (wow), she has been board-certified as an [...

State and Federal Courts Disbar Attorney for Backdating Deed for Medicaid Planning Purposes

Posted on March 15, 2009
In January 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit disbarred an attorney who backdated a deed for Medicaid planning purposes and engaged in self-dealing. in-re-cook (U.S. Ct. App., 6th Cir., No. 08-3026, Jan. 6, 2008). In 2001, Ohio attorney Linda S...

New Jersey Court Rules That Hospital Must Resume Life Support For Patient In Vegetative State

Posted on March 11, 2009
A Union County judge has ordered life support resumed for a patient who has been in a vegetative state for 14 months, restraining a hospital from taking it upon itself to discontinue or suspend treatment, and rejecting arguments that public health considerations take precedence over the patient?s family?s wishes...

Do You Have An Advance Directive For Mental Health Care? Why Would You Want One?

Posted on March 06, 2009

NJ Administrative Judge Finds That A Retirement Annuity Owned By A Community Spouse Is Exempt Under Medicaid

Posted on March 04, 2009

Seven Common Mistakes Made By Elder Law Attorneys With Suggested Solutions

Posted on March 02, 2009

Ten most common reasons why a claimant for Social Security benefits may lose on appeal

Posted on February 28, 2009

NJ Appeals Court Rules That Annuities Are Countable Under Medicaid

Posted on February 27, 2009

Social Security?s Disability Backlog: Economic Stimulus Package May Help

Posted on February 26, 2009
The average time it takes to process a claim for benefits with Social Security Administration (SSA) in November and December 2008 was 480 days. The Newark, NJ district (covering northern New Jersey) did somewhat better, ranking 58th out of 447 districts nationwide, with an average processing time of 447 days...

Obama Plans to Freeze the Federal Estate Tax at Current Levels and to Make the Estate Tax Marital Deduction ?Portable?

Posted on February 25, 2009
The Wall Street Journal recently reported here and here that the new administration has decided to permanently lock the estate tax in at the rate and exemption levels that took effect this year. That change in the law would exempt estates of $3.5 million — $7 million for couples — from any taxation...

Court Finds That Vaccines Are Not Responsible for Autism

Posted on February 25, 2009
A special court recently ruled against three families who claimed that childhood vaccinations contributed to their children’s autism. The families had requested compensation from the federal vaccine injury fund, which was established to compensate injuries incurred through mandatory vaccinations, after their children developed autism following routine measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccinations...

Funds Set Aside for Legal Fees Pursuant to a Court Order are Countable Assets

Posted on February 23, 2009
Recently, a Massachusetts trial court upheld a hearing officer’s decision holding that assets which a probate court authorized a Medicaid applicant’s guardian to set aside for legal and guardianship fees are a countable asset for Medicaid eligibility purposes...

My Article on ?Emerging Medicaid Eligibility Strategies? Published in the New Jersey Law Journal

Posted on February 22, 2009
Recently, a number of significant decisions have been produced by New Jersey courts and administrative agencies in cases involving appeals from denials of Medicaid eligibility. These new decisions have rendered ineffective many Medicaid planning strategies which attorneys once relied upon to help elderly and disabled clients qualify for Medicaid, and highlighted promising new strategies which [...

Two New Studies Document The Effect That The Economic Downturn Is Having On People With Disabilities

Posted on February 20, 2009
According to the February 19th Edition of the Kansas City Star newspaper’s online edition, KansasCity.com, people with disabilities are one of the hidden victims of the economic downturn A new study shows that Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) claims have generally increased during the seven recession periods over the past four decades...

Are Prisoners Entitled to Social Security Benefits?

Posted on February 19, 2009
A recent Social Security case I got involved in brought this issue to my attention for the first time. My client, who had received Social Security disability benefits in the past, had not received any benefits during his incarceration in prison, and wanted to reinstate his benefits now that he had been released...

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