Blog: News & Insights

Last year we blogged about a decision from the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) denying presumption of service connection for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) when the veteran served a lengthy period of active duty for training in the National Guard.  That blog can be found at Bowers v. Shinseki (CAVC). On April 17, 2014, the United States Court of Appeals for the...

On April 24, 2014, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Fed. Cir.) issued a published opinion in Gilbert v. Shinseki.  The case discusses the statutory “presumption of sound condition” under 38 U.S.C.  § 1111 within the context of the general requirements for direct service connection. On appeal, Mr. Gilbert asserted that the application of Section 1111...

Deeds for real estate are recorded at the county clerk’s office to “put the world on notice” as to who owns the property. If you and your parents are talking about transferring the home, it would be a good idea to first order a title search through a Title Insurance Company to confirm the state of the title and the absence of liens. Suppose that your great aunt owned a house...

Do you have a son or daughter who is unable to work due to disabilities that began before age 22? Your young adult may have begun receiving SSI & Medicaid benefits when they turned 18. However, when you retire and are eligible to receive Social Security benefits, or if there comes a time that you can no longer work due to your own disabilities and you start receiving Social Security...

When a person is moving into a nursing home for long-term care, there are many papers that are presented to them by the admissions office. While the resident has many federally-protected rights once they move in, at the time of entry the facility is asking them to sign a Contract which can be enforced in court. You should ask your elder law attorney to review the contract before you sign it,...

When a person applies for Medicaid to pay for long-term care services, his resources must be less than a specific amount, which is generally $2,000 if the gross monthly income is less than $2,130, and $4,000 if the income is higher than that. “Resources” and “income” are treated differently. If the applicant owns an annuity contract, it may be counted as an excess...

Generally speaking, if a Medicaid applicant made gifts of assets during the 5-year look-back preceding her Medicaid application, eligibility will be denied for a period of time called a “transfer penalty.” There is a special exception to this rule for transfers that were made to disabled children.   In this case , M.C. v. Union County Div. Soc. Serv. And DMAHS, HMA- 8967-2013, the...

I love to see these types of stories of finding love in assisted living or other senior community setting.  Many times, our clients have developed new relationships in nursing homes or assisted living.  They may even want to get married!  It’s so romantic, but as attorneys, we have to look past the romance and see how a new spousal relationship will affect the individuals’ estate...

I receive contacts from veterans around the country frustrated after receiving a VA Rating Decision and simply seeking some guidance on a daily basis.  Commonly, the veteran does not need formal representation, but does need to understand what actions need he/she needs to take to have successful resolution of their claim subject to a Notice of Disagreement. I took a few moments to analyze what...

We have a lot of clients who are caring family members of incompetent parents or other relatives.  Frequently, these clients want to be the guardians for their relatives so that important decisions can get made:  medical and treatment decisions, financial (including public benefits), and residential.  Sometimes, the guardian lives out of state–that’s ok, though it may lead to more...