Author: Linda Ershow-Levenberg

Are you a grandparent who lovingly agreed to co-sign your grandchild’s  college loans? Do you have unpaid alimony obligations under an old court order? You may have been under the impression since you retired that “Social Security Benefits are secure against all creditors,” and that they cannot be attached to satisfy a judgment. This is certainly the general rule. 42 USC...

More than 5.4 million people enrolled in health insurance plans through the federally subsidized health insurance exchanges that were established by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and 86% of them were eligible for subsidies, according to the NY Times on June 27th. The Department of Health and Human Services has issued regulations that enable most ACA enrollees to have their policies...

When a Medicaid application is denied due to “excess resources,” many procedural tangles can ensue. Individuals who require long-term care in nursing homes, assisted living or at home may apply for Medicaid when their countable available resources have been reduced to a low level, typically $2,000 for an unmarried person plus a protected share for their spouse. (Income is treated...

There may come a time when your beloved aged & infirm family member just cannot take care of their basic needs for daily living any more. They cannot get themselves safely in and out of bed or chair; cannot bathe themselves; are starting to trip and fall; need help getting to the bathroom; can no longer obtain and prepare food; or can no longer remember how to do basic things or how to ask...

Back in the mid-1980’s, Congress enacted the Social Security Disability Benefits Reform Act, and the Social Security Administration (SSA) adopted a Medical Improvement Review Standard (MIRS)  to provide a method to evaluate whether a person’s disability had improved to the point that the person is capable once again of engaging in substantial gainful activity (work). Congress...

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...