Blog: News & Insights

On December 17, 2015, we blogged about the VA’s intent to propose regulations regarding presumptive conditions for veterans exposed to VOCs at Camp Lejeune.  Other news sources quoted VA officials as stating that it may take up to one year for any future proposed regulation to become final.  Frankly, this is likely a realistic timeline given the requirements of the Administrative...

When a minor who has disabilities reaches age 18 and is incapacitated, their parent or custodian will typically file for Guardianship. In some cases, the minor has assets under Court control that are held in a guardianship court account through the county Surrogate. These might be assets that were received through a prior personal injury lawsuit award or settlement, or assets that the  minor...

On December 17, 2015, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced an intent to propose regulatory changes to Title 38 that would grant presumptive status for certain conditions related to exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) while stationed at Camp Lejeune, NC.  The noted conditions were the following: (1) Kidney Cancer; (2) Liver Cancer; (3) Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma; (4) Leukemia; (5)...

Recently, the Department of Veterans Affairs updated the VA Form needed to perfect a Notice of Disagreement, specifically VA Form 21-0958.  I have uploaded a copy at VBA-21-0958-ARE (Notice of Disagreement).  Substantively, the biggest change is a specific block for the veteran/claimant to indicate whether they are requesting review by a decision review officer (DRO) or via traditional...

I’ve been thinking a lot about Power of Attorney issues lately because of a variety of problems my clients have encountered. A power of attorney is a document that reflects a relationship created between one person and another person in which the principal person appoints the other person as their “Agent and attorney-in-fact” with power to carry out different kinds of...

The following case illustrates the necessity to pore through the fine print when making a major investment such as a move into a Continuing Care community. In this case, the individual needed to pursue a lawsuit. Continuing Care Retirement Communities (“CCRC”) in New Jersey are regulated by the NJ Department of Community Affairs (NJDCA). When a person wants to move into such a...

At the start of World War II, my Pop went to officer’s training school and then enlisted in the Army Air Corps. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, and became a radar navigator. He was assigned as the Bombardier on a B-17 “Flying Fortress” with the 15th Air Force, 2nd Bomb Group, 20th squadron, based at Amendola in the Apuglia region of southeastern Italy, until the...

In Maurice Needham vs. Director of the Office of Medicaid, the Massachusetts Court of Appeals upheld a transfer penalty imposed by the State Medicaid program after the Medicaid applicant obtained a court order amending his trust. There was a revocable Trust containing Needham’s house, and an irrevocable Trust for Needham’s benefit which was the sole beneficiary of the revocable...

A New Jersey homeowner’s  acceptance of a $90,000 inheritance from his late sister’s estate in 2014 resulted in loss of his eligibility for the Homestead Rebate, because the inheritance was countable as “income.” . Although receipt of an inheritance by an estate beneficiary is not “income” under NJ or federal income tax regulations, it is still considered...

There is an impression being created out in the field that the filing of a Medicaid application is just a matter of spending down and then assembling a few years of records and submitting them to the county board of social services. The fact is that every application is intensively scrutinized. Some counties are scanning all of the financial documents to a reader program that generates a...