Blog: News & Insights

As the following Washington Post Article documents, President Obama is expected to nominate former CEO of Procter & Gamble, Robert (Bob) A. McDonald, as the new Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  This comes on the heels of the recent resignations of former VA Secretary Eric Shinseki; Dr. Robert Jesse, the acting VA Undersecretary for Health; and Will A. Gunn, VA general...

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...

On June 23, 2014, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) issued an unpublished order denying Mr. Hamblin’s petition for extraordinary relief.  The unpublished order can be accessed at Hamblin v. Gibson. As we previously blogged about at VA Appellate Process, Systemic Delays, and the All Writs Act, decisions from the CAVC denying mandamus petitions under the All Writs Act 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...

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSD) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) are both federal programs providing income to people who are unable to work due to disability. The medical standard is the same: ” inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or which...

The Social Security Administration has issued guidance concerning same-sex couples who were married in one state but now reside in a state where same-sex marriage isn’t recognized. Under the Social Security Act, marriage is defined by the state law of the state where the applicant resides: “To decide your relationship as the insured’s wife or husband we look to the laws of...

On June 17, 2014, the Department of Veterans Affairs released VAOPGCPREC 4-2014, an opinion clarifying the application of 38 U.S.C. § 103(c).  Section 103(c) deals with the definition of “spouse” for VA purposes.  In short, if a marriage is “valid under the law of place where they resided at the time of inception of their marriage, it is valid for VA purposes.”  Under...

The subject of family caregiving for sick and elderly relatives has been in the news a lot lately. Many people need to modify their work schedules to provide transportation, prepare meals, give medicine or provide supervision for frail parents. One of the issues is the tremendous number of middle-aged women who leave their jobs to become full-time caregivers for aging parents. See...