Blog: News & Insights

From time to time we get questions from clients who are having trouble maintaining access to their grandchild after the grandchild’s parent has gotten divorced or has died. In cases where the parent of a minor child resists visitation by a grandparent, the grandparent may need to seek relief through the courts. There is a state statute on this issue. Mediation towards a consent order is...

The need to place a beloved family member in a nursing home may be one of the most harrowing and heartbreaking decisions a person has to make. Not only is there a terrible sense of guilt and failure, but the sheer cost of a single month in a nursing home is staggering, and leaves the family with a bleak view of their future security. They feel vulnerable, because they are at the mercy of...

The federal  Nursing Home Residents’ Rights Act protects residents against arbitrary, involuntary discharge by specifying only 6 grounds for discharge..And above all,  even when one of those 6 bases exists, a nursing home also has the duty to make a safe discharge.   A nursing home cannot involuntarily transfer a Medicaid resident unless there is another placement available which is...

“Business succession planning” sounds like a concept for multi-millionaires, but if you have worked your whole life to create and sustain a small business which is loved by your community, you may feel worried at the prospect of what will happen to the brand you’ve built up through all your hard work. As a senior business owner, your business may be a delicatessen, or a...

Today is a good-news day for people with disabilities who want to set up a Special Needs Trust to preserve their eligibility for critical benefits: the President has signed the Special Needs Fairness Act — S349 — into law. . Since 1993, an applicant or recipient of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Medicaid (now MLTSS in New Jersey) has been able to shelter their excess...

On December 8, 2016, the Department of Veterans Affairs ( “VA” or “DVA”) issued a Press Release allowing veterans and dependents to file an application for eligibility for interment in a VA national cemetery “prior to time of need” through the Pre-Need Determination of Eligibility Program.  The Press Release can be viewed at va-press-release-burial-benefits....

If medical catastrophe strikes and someone in your family needs nursing home care, they may want to apply for Medicaid to pick up those costs.  The regulations are complex, but there are lots of legal strategies that we use to help a person become eligible and to protect the rest of the family at the same time. The process doesn’t stop there, though. The applicant has to prepare and file...

Has this happened to you? There is often a point in a person’s life when he looks at his children and grandchildren, starts thinking about how hard he worked to build his house or his business or his savings and investments, and wonders as he ages whether he will be able to still provide a financial legacy for his children. In particular, he may be worried that if he ever develops...

Just recently someone asked me why she was being permanently surcharged on her Medicare Part B premiums. She had worked beyond age 65  When she stopped working, she then elected to pay for insurance continuation under COBRA. She started to receive her  Social Security, and automatically began receiving Medicare Part A, but opted out of Medicare Part B until after her COBRA benefits ran out....

In October 2016, the DVA announced that a .3% increase in DVA benefits rates for 2016-2017.  This increase is a reflection of the cost-of-living adjustment for this fiscal year based upon the Consumer Price Index. Last week the DVA updated its website to reflect this increase and the new compensation benefits chart can be found at the link below: New Compensation Benefits Rates Chart