Author: Linda Ershow-Levenberg

The Union County NJ Department of Parks and Recreation operates public pools  — Ulrich pool in Rahway and Wheeler Pool in Linden. Open recreational swimming is free for people with disabilities and senior citizens at both locations. As of now the hours for these free swims are: Ulrich Pool — Mondays from 6 to 8 PM July 7-August 25, and at Wheeler Pool — Wednesdays from noon...

Reparations payments received by Holocaust survivors are exempt from consideration under the federal Medicaid and SSI laws. According to the SSI regulations at 20 CFR 416.1236 (a)(18) – “reparations are excluded” from the definitions of “resources.” The SSI POMS SI 01120.610 says that reparations are not includable as either resources or income. There is an...

The term “Special Needs Trust” typically refers to a “first party trust,” funded with assets that belong to a person under 65 who has disabilities. Federal law for the Medicaid and SSI programs  — 42 USC 1396p(d)(4)(a) and 42 USC 1382b(c)(C)(ii) –allows an applicant to transfer their excess resources into a Special Needs Trust without being disqualified for...

The Supreme Court of New Jersey recently adopted a new standardized Judgment of Incapacity for Guardianship cases, to be used by the probate courts throughout the state. It’s called the Revised Model Judgment. The Judgment is the final court order signed by the Judge which generally appoints the Guardian of Person and Property and places an array of obligations and limitations on the...

If you receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits and you are the beneficiary of a Special Needs Trust (“SNT”) or a Supplemental Needs or Supplemental Benefits (Third Party) Trust, your Trustee must be careful in the management of the Trust to preserve your benefits. The Trust cannot be used to pay for shelter or food. It is designed to pay for supplemental or...

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSD) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) are both federal programs providing income to people who are unable to work due to disability. The medical standard is the same: ” inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or which...

The Social Security Administration has issued guidance concerning same-sex couples who were married in one state but now reside in a state where same-sex marriage isn’t recognized. Under the Social Security Act, marriage is defined by the state law of the state where the applicant resides: “To decide your relationship as the insured’s wife or husband we look to the laws of...

The subject of family caregiving for sick and elderly relatives has been in the news a lot lately. Many people need to modify their work schedules to provide transportation, prepare meals, give medicine or provide supervision for frail parents. One of the issues is the tremendous number of middle-aged women who leave their jobs to become full-time caregivers for aging parents. See...

Click here to read Part I of this post now. Every day, people conduct their lives using cash payments. They go to ATMs or they write checks to “cash” and get cash from a bank teller. They use cash for groceries, and to pay their gardeners, hairdressers,   and snow shovelers. They hire people for home repairs big and small. They pay in cash for furniture or remodelling when the cash...

The NY Times reported, on 21 June 2014, about a gym being operated by Martin Luther King Addo, a bodybuilder and personal trainer who was raised in Ghana in West Africa. Mr. Addo opened his gym next to an apartment building in  Manhattan and specially tailors much of his work to the residents in their 80’s or even 90’s or have disabilities, helping them to improve their walking,...