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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

Pension bill would allow deferrals of 401(k) and IRA withdrawals in 2009

Posted on December 17, 2008
Congress approved legislation that would allow retirees to defer withdrawals from their 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts in 2009 without triggering a penalty. President Bush is expected to sign the bill. Ordinarily, seniors age 70½ and older are required to withdraw a minimum amount from their tax-deferred retirement savings plans every year and pay [...

Director of Medicaid upholds the denial of nursing home Medicaid benefits to applicants who paid family members for care under Life Care Contracts

Posted on December 17, 2008
As I reported in a blog post in October at http://www.dvanarelli.com/blog/2008/10/07/nj-judge-recently-ruled-that-a-medicaid-applicants-prepayment, ALJ Paone ruled, in a case entitled C.S. v. Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services and Union County Board of Social Services, that Medicaid applicants who prepaid for personal care services to be provided in the future by family members under Life Care Contracts were ineligible for [...

Denial of Medicaid Benefits by NY Medicaid Agency Reversed Because Agency Failed to Reconsider in Reasonable Time

Posted on December 16, 2008
A New York trial court held that because the state Medicaid agency failed to reconsider its earlier eligibility determination in a timely manner, its amended decision denying benefits is vacated. dickinson-vs-ny-department-of-health-and-onondaga-county-department-of-social-services, (N...

NJ Governor Signs Predatory Annuities Prevention Act

Posted on December 14, 2008
An annuity is a type of insurance product in which an insurer, in exchange for charges (akin to premiums), makes a series of income payments at regular intervals over a set period. Senior citizens and other consumers often obtain annuity coverage for use as future retirement income...

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Deception in Sale of Annuities Held Sufficient to State Elder Abuse Claim

Posted on December 14, 2008
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...

Mediation is identified as one of the best careers in 2009 by US News and World Report even though the report confirms that there are more mediators than mediation jobs

Posted on December 13, 2008
Best Careers 2009: Mediator Overview. If we can’t solve a conflict, we tend to give up or hire a lawyer. There can be a better way: A mediator can often help resolve a dispute less expensively and with less conflict, whether it’s a divorce, a discrimination claim, or the parent of a special-education student seeking more [...

ABA Task Force Shows How To Improve Mediation Quality

Posted on December 11, 2008
In January 2006, the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution formed a Task Force to investigate factors that define high quality mediation practice. Over the following two years, the Task Force organized a series of ten focus group discussions in nine cities across the United States and Canada...

Center for Social Gerontology publishes bibliography on elder mediation

Posted on December 10, 2008
The Center for Social Gerontology has produced a annotated bibliography on elder mediation. The bibliography seeks to offer a comprehensive listing and brief description of the universe of existing materials - books, manuals, reports, articles and video/on-line information - on the development, provision and evaluation of elder mediation...

Local newspaper in Pennsylvania reports on the James vs Richman case

Posted on December 09, 2008
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...

Elder Mediation and the Social Work Case Manager

Posted on December 08, 2008
My colleague, Marcie Cooper, a geriatric care manager and co-founder of the Elder Mediation Center of New Jersey, recently published an article in the newsletter of the Aging Section, a specialty practice section of the National Association of Social Workers...

I was a speaker at the County Bar Associations discussing new Medicaid planning strategies

Posted on December 06, 2008
The pace of decisions in Medicaid appeals has picked up recently, with several significant decisions being rendered in courts and administrative agencies in New Jersey. As a result, there has been a spike in interest by attorneys who seek to identify and understand the estate planning strategies that can successfully accelerate eligibility for Medicaid benefits [...

Academy of Special Needs Planners Article on Preparing for Passage of Child Into Adulthood Appears in Exceptional Parent Magazine

Posted on December 04, 2008
Academy of Special Needs Planners co-founder Harry S. Margolis recently co-authored an article titled “What to Do When Your Child Turns 18″ that is featured in the November issue of Exceptional Parent Magazine. The article highlights five key transition points that families face as their children with special needs reach adulthood...

A Housing Solution for the Developmentally Disabled in New Jersey?

Posted on December 03, 2008
In the Sunday newspapers this week, I read two very different articles concerning people with developmental disabilities. The first, an article by Susan K. Livio in the Newark Star Ledger, addressed a pervasive problem with a grim prognosis for those with developmental disabilities...

Public Benefits Basics - Social Security and SSI Benefits

Posted on December 02, 2008
Because much of the elder law practice population is elderly or disabled and at or below the poverty level, a basic understanding of Social Security programs (and related Medicare and Medicaid benefits) is important. Social Security Disability (?SSD?) Benefits: Available to a blind or disabled worker who: (1) applies for benefits; (2) has not reached full retirement age; (3) [...

MEDICAID PLANNING: NEW STRATEGIES, NEW CASES

Posted on December 01, 2008
What emerging case law is demonstrating about Medicaid planning techniques: SITUATION PLANNING TECHNIQUE Applicant does not have a community spouse Use a promissory note with a ?gift and loan? strategy. G.L. v. DMAHS, Docket No. HMARP 05080-2008N (Middlesex County), Final Agency Decision Oct...

Blogging Lawyers

Posted on November 28, 2008
This is my 100th blog post, a milestone of sorts. This blog is an integrated part of my law firm?s new website. After an extended effort in preparing content for the firm website that began in 2007, the website went live in mid-March 2008. I started blogging on April 21, 2008...

10 Elder-Friendly Bills That May Be Enacted In The New Congress

Posted on November 25, 2008
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...

FDIC Temporarily Boosts Insurance Limit to $250,000, Including Trusts

Posted on November 22, 2008
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...

New Guidelines For Warrants And Incarceration In Child Support Cases

Posted on November 21, 2008
A directive from the Administrative Office of the Courts lays out a new framework for use of incarceration in cases of parents brought into court for child support enforcement. The directive, entitled directive-15-08, comes in the wake of the state Supreme Court’s holding, in pasqua-v-council-186-nj-127-2006, that indigent parents charged with violating child support orders, who are [...

Elder Mediation Center Members Have Been Busy With Speaking Engagements and Writing Articles

Posted on November 17, 2008
On Saturday, November 15, 2008, members of the The Elder Mediation Center of New Jersey, an alliance of eldercare professionals of which I am a co-founder, presented a workshop on ?Unique Perspectives in Elder Mediation ? A Paradigm Shift? at the Annual Conference of the New Jersey Association of Professional Mediators in Somerset, NJ...

Lawyer Preparation For Mediation

Posted on November 14, 2008
I?ve written on the subject of mediation preparation before, here and here. But the longer I think and read about the subject, the more I discover there is to say about it. So, I decided to revisit the subject. Last year, more than 98% of all lawsuits filed in New Jersey settled prior to trial...

Federal Court Ruling Protects Assets Of Elderly Nursing Home Resident For His Spouse

Posted on November 14, 2008
In James ex rel. James v. Richman, 465 F.Supp.2d 395 (M.D.Pa., Nov 21, 2006), aff?d, James v. Richman, — F.3d —- (3rd Cir.(Pa.) Nov 12, 2008) (NO. 06-5092), an institutionalized spouse who was a nursing home resident brought a lawsuit against the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW) alleging that the DPW?s decision to deny [...

Life Settlements: Cash For Your Life Insurance Policy Which Substantially Exceeds The Cash Surrender Value Of The Policy

Posted on November 10, 2008
Are you having difficulty keeping up premium payments on a life insurance policy, or do you no longer need the policy? Policyholders once had only two options: let the policy lapse or turn it in for a meager cash surrender value. Now there’s another, often vastly more lucrative alternative: sell the policy to a company [...

New administrative law case disallows any reduction in a Medicaid penalty period based upon the return of gifted assets after a Medicaid application is filed

Posted on November 09, 2008
In E.S. vs. Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services, petitioner, a 91 year old nursing home resident, transferred $42,053 to her son after paying the nursing home privately from her savings for two years. The nursing home payments and the gift combined to leave petitioner with no assets, so she applied for Medicaid...

Collaborative law process featured in business section of Star-Ledger newspaper

Posted on November 08, 2008
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 [...

Writing a Memorandum of Intent for a Special Needs Child

Posted on November 07, 2008
How can you ensure that your special needs child will remain well cared for and secure once others assume the role of guardian or caregiver? While creating a financial plan and establishing a specialized trust are central to preparing for your child’s future, special needs planners also advise families to write down their intentions and [...

IRS Releases 2009 Limits on Deductions for Qualified Long Term Care Insurance Premiums

Posted on November 05, 2008
The Internal Revenue Service has announced the maximum tax deduction that can be taken on qualified Long Term Care Insurance premiums in 2009. Maximum Deduction for Qualified LTCI Premiums Under Code 213(d)(10) Attained Age Before Close of Year 2008 2009 40 or less $310 $320 More than 40 but no more than 50 $580 $600 More than 50 but no more than 60 $1,150 $1,190 More than 60 [...

I was a Speaker at the 2008 NAELA Advanced Elder Law Institute

Posted on November 03, 2008
This year, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys held its Advanced Institute in Kansas City, Missouri from October 23 - 26. The program-of-events-10-31-08 shows that the presentations at the Institute covered a wide array of subjects. I attended two terrific sessions on the eligibility criteria for Veterans Administration (VA) service-related compensation benefits and non-service [...

Upcoming Speaking Engagments

Posted on November 02, 2008
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...

This year, I was a Speaker at GANJI?s 13th Annual Conference on Guardianship

Posted on November 01, 2008
This year, the Guardianship Association of New Jersey, Inc. (GANJI) held its 13th Annual Conference on Guardianship on October 30th at the New Jersey Law Center in New Brunswick, NJ. The conference was entitled ?Surrogate Decision-Making: A Holistic Approach...

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