Book Review: How to Care for Aging Parents
I recently read a book I wish I had written myself. It’s called How to Care for Aging Parents (3rd Edition) by Virginia Morris, and was published by Workman Press in its most recent update in 2014. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is stepping up to the plate to assist a parent in later life when physical frailty or dementia are the primary causes for concern. The child often...
Veterans History Project – Library of Congress
In 2000, Congress created the Veterans History Project, a initiative through the Library of Congress to collect, record, and preserve information pertaining to veterans of past and current conflicts. It is often that I’ll see hand-written narratives from WWII veterans or oral recollections from Vietnam veterans explaining the events they witnessed. It’s a humbling experience and...
VA Press Release – Expansion of Educational Benefits and the Role of the VA in 20th Century History
On October 20, 2014, the Department of Veterans Affairs issued the following VA Press Release explaining the expansion of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to surviving spouses of servicemembers killed while on active duty. This announcement is implementation of one of the statutory provisions of the recent Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (“Choice Act”).
It also gives me an...
There’s help available for elderly victims of Domestic Violence
Today is “Purple Thursday” within Domestic Violence Awareness month. It’s been about 40 years since the taboo subject of conjugal crime and battering were brought out of the shadows and onto the table for public discussion. A small group of women (including myself) worked in a small network of shelters around the state and did our best to assist victims to get protective...
Special Needs Trusts have to be Sole Benefit Trusts
If a person is disabled and cannot support themselves, they may need the support of government benefits over the long term to help with costs of housing, health insurance, transportation, residential services, and home health aides. If they then receive assets through a personal injury settlement, the impact of the settlement on their eligibility for benefits must be taken into account....
Effective Date of Entitlement for DIC Benefits . . . Please File Within One Year of Death
On October 20, 2014, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) issued a single-judge unpublished memorandum opinion in Heredia v. McDonald. The opinion is not precedential and presents no point of law that is unresolved, however, it will hopefully give insight in the future for filing a VA survivor benefits claim. In essence, the surviving spouse, Mrs. Natalia Heredia, of Marine...
Appeal of a Medicaid Denial Must be Filed within 20 days of Notice
When an application for Medicaid benefits is filed with a County Board of Social Services in New Jersey, it may be many months before the applicant hears back from the caseworker who is processing the application. If the applicant is in a nursing home or is suffering with Alzheimers Disease or other dementias it is crucial that they have a representative such as a family member, agent under...
Supported Decision-Making as an Alternative to Guardianship
Back on May 29-30 I participated in the 3rd World Congress on Adult Guardianship in Arlington VA and followed up with blog posts about alternative approaches to guardianship around the world. Supported Decision-Making is a concept that is gaining traction in many places and certainly deserves careful consideration here in New Jersey. It’s more complicated than merely entering an...
NJ Medicaid MLTSS Feedback Forums scheduled in October
You know by now that the New Jersey Department of Human Services has been developing a new Medicaid Long Term Services and Supports (MLTSS) program under its 2013 Comprehensive Medicaid Waiver. It’s still a work-in-progress. This program affects all elderly and disabled Medicaid applicants and Medicaid recipients who need long-term care Medicaid services outside of nursing homes. Three...
CAVC Troubled By One ROs Lack of Responsiveness . . . But One RO Has Shed Light Through the Fog of Recent
On October 7, 2014, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claim (CAVC) published a decision in Roberts v. McDonald (regarding how the offset should occur for surviving spouses both entitled to annuity benefits under the Survival Benefits Plan and VA benefits pursuant to dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC)), and a number of unpublished decisions. While unpublished decisions have no legal...