Special Needs News

When it comes to designing an estate plan there is no “one size fits all” because each family is unique. You may have a young adult child with profound disabilities who will never be self sufficient and will require extensive support. Or you may have a child who is developing a certain degree of independence with work activity or ability to live outside your home despite their...

I recently came across information about special programs events that may be of interest to you if you are caring for or assisting a family member who has special needs. The events took place in November in the greater Essex-Morris-Union county areas but they are the beginning of what will be many programs on these issues that will be run through the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest....

http://medicaid.gov/medicaid-chip-program-information/by-topics/eligibility/downloads/2015-ssi-and-spousal-impoverishment-standards.pdf Starting January 1, 2015, the Community Spouse Resource Allowance (CSRA) for the community spouse of a married Medicaid applicant is being raised to $119,220 from $117,240.00.  This is the amount of countable available resources that the community spouse can...

If the State Medicaid program cuts your hours of service, appeal, appeal, appeal. NJ Medicaid  administers certain of its home care services through a program called the Personal Preference Program. The number of allocated hours of service is decided by the Division of Medial Assistance and Health Services (DMAHS). Personal Care Assistant (PCA) services are provided to the participant at a set...

If you apply for Medicaid benefits to pay for long-term care in a nursing home, assisted living or at home, you have to be prepared for the grueling 5-year look-back, a process that can leave you in a quagmire as you search for answers to the most minute questions about the personal financial lifestyle of your household or the applicant you’re assisting. Medicaid is now being referred to...

Now that we know that expanded Medicaid is kicking off in a big way this month, with expanded eligibility and full integration of all the waiver populations and nursing home residents in the new Managed Long Term Services and Supports program, we need to start thinking about how this will affect clients’ particular interactions with Medicaid, the managed care organization (MCO) and...

It is common that the Veterans Law Section of Fink Rosner Ershow-Levenberg gets inquires regarding military/veterans legal representation that are not specifically related to the Department of Veterans Affairs and Title 38.  A common issue is veterans seeking representation to request a military discharge upgrade and/or correction of military records.  Many veterans are confused on how to...

Last week I saw “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime,” a drama at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on 47th Street in NYC. What an excellent production. http://curiousonbroadway.com/?gclid=CKa58f_qkMECFa1m7AoddGsArQ Based on a novel written in the first person by the protagonist, 15-year old Christopher Boone, it’s a story about a weird discovery he makes one evening,...

In a new but unpublished decision by the Superior Court, Appellate Division, a person applying for benefits under the State’s Traumatic Brain Injury Fund (TBIF)  was denied reimbursement for certain equipment due to apparent failure to properly follow all of the procedural requirements for obtaining same. B.B. V. Division of Disability Services ( A-3151-12T3, decided Nov. 17, 2014). The...

Legislation is pending in the Congress concerning the payment of a veteran’s survivor benefits. Under current law, a veteran’s survivor benefits which are payable to the veteran’s children must be paid directly to the beneficiary. If the beneficiary is disabled and is dependent upon other governmental benefits which are means-tested, this could cause the recipient to be...