Law Office of Donald D. Vanarelli Blog
New Jersey elder law, estate and special needs planning, mediation and collaborative family law.
Author: Donald D. Vanarelli practices at the Law Office of Donald D. Vanarelli in Westfield, N.J., and is a founding member of the Elder Mediation Center of New Jersey.
Blawg Related Categories: Alternative Dispute Resolution • Disability Law • Elder Law • Family Law • Health Law • Trusts & Estates • States • New Jersey • Solo / Small Firm
Recent Posts from Law Office of Donald D. Vanarelli Blog
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Will The Pension Portion of VA Aid and Attendance Benefits Make The Recipient Ineligible For Medicaid Based On Excess Income?
Family members in search of sources of funding of long-term care costs for loved ones who can no longer live independently are repeatedly given misinformation about the effect of Aid and Attendance (“A&A”) benefits from…
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New Jersey Supreme Court Eases Restrictions on “Super Lawyer” Advertising
This week, the New Jersey Supreme Court changed the ethics rules to allow lawyers, for the first time, to mention their inclusion in Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers in America, the Martindale-Hubbell AV rankings or other…
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New Jersey Appeals Court Finds That The Entire Controversy Doctrine Applies To Pro Se Litigants
The entire controversy doctrine requires litigants in a lawsuit to assert all claims that each party might have against the party in a single lawsuit. R. 4:30A The doctrine is intended to prevent fractionalized litigation.…
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SSA Annual Fact Sheet Shows SGA Amount For 2010 Will Be $1,000 Per Month
The Social Security Administration (SSA) published its annual Fact Sheet last month, showing changes to SSA benefits upcoming in 2010. I found three items of interest on the Fact Sheet: The SSA officially acknowledged that…
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Top Vanarelli Law Office Blog Posts: October 2009
In case you missed any of them, here are our top 5 most popular posts from last month. The original post date, along with a short summary of the content of each post, are included…
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Gift Tax Annual Exclusion Amount Unchanged In 2010
The gift tax annual exclusion is the maximum amount which a taxpayer can gift each year to any beneficiary without being required to use his or her $1 million lifetime gift exemption amount. If gifts…
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LGBT Aging and Long-Term Care Fairness Survey
[I received the following email from the National Senior Citizens Law Center and affiliated groups concerning a survey being conducted in order to “raise awareness of the issues facing older adults who are lesbian, gay,…
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New York State Court Rejects Personal Care Contracts In Nursing Home Setting
In a matter involving personal service agreements, five petitioners brought a court action challenging determinations by the Oneida County and Herkimer County Department of Social Services (DSS) which denied Medicaid benefits to applicants who had…
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Unusual Special Needs Trust Distribution Requests
Special needs trusts (also known as “supplemental needs” trusts) allow a disabled beneficiary to receive gifts, lawsuit settlements, or other funds and yet not lose his or her eligibility for certain government programs. Such trusts…
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New Jersey Administrative Judge Finds That A Retirement Annuity Owned By A Medicaid Applicant’s Spouse Is Not Countable
An Opinion and Order was entered on October 20, 2009 by Administrative Law Judge Joseph A. Paone, in the consolidated matter of the Estate of F.L. v. Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services and…