Law Office of Donald D. Vanarelli Blog

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has revised its Program Operations Manual System (POMS) to allow first-party trusts to pay for travel expenses incurred by non-beneficiaries in limited cases. In addition, the revised POMS clarifies the rule that payment of some administrative expenses upon early termination of the trust or otherwise, including trustee fees, will not [...]

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After an individual’s death, litigation regarding the decedent’s estate can arise in a variety of contexts. A common claim asserted in a lawsuit challenging the validity of a decedent’s Last Will and Testament is that the will was the result of “Undue Influence.” “Undue Influence” is defined by our courts as “’mental, moral or physical’ [...]

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After an individual’s death, litigation regarding the decedent’s estate can arise in a variety of contexts. A common claim asserted in an estate litigation is that the decedent lacked “testamentary capacity” (the capacity to make a will). An individual’s mental capacity is judged based upon the transaction or act that the person is undertaking. One [...]

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For the first time in New Jersey, the appellate court has ruled that legal counsel for the ward must be appointed by a chancery court in a proceeding to confirm the appointment of a testamentary guardian under a decedent’s Last Will and Testament. Matter of C.F.C., An Incapacitated Person, Superior Court, Appellate Division, Docket No. [...]

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On Saturday, April 27, 2013, I presented a session on the impact of elder law issues on divorce mediation at the 2013 Annual Divorce Mediation Seminar by the New Jersey Association of Professional Mediators. The topics covered in my session included Social Security, including retirement, disability and survivors benefits, Supplemental Security Income benefits, Medicare, Medicaid, [...]

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In a contested guardianship, the guardianship applicant often wishes to pursue additional claims involving the validity of  a Last Will and Testament or other estate documents purportedly executed by the alleged incapacitated person at or before the time the guardianship action was filed. In such cases, plaintiffs often claim that the Last Will and Testament [...]

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When a party believes that the decedent’s estate was depleted prior to his or her death as a result of gifts allegedly made by the decedent, an improvident gift claim may be asserted. In contrast to testamentary dispositions, in which both a confidential relationship and suspicious circumstances are required to raise a presumption of undue [...]

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Recently, the New Jersey Supreme Court granted a Petition for Certification I filed asking the Court to review a decision of the appellate division denying a request by my client, a retired fireman, to designate as beneficiary of his public pension death benefits a special needs trust he established in his Last Will and Testament. This [...]

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Earlier this month, Hon. Robert P. Contillo, Presiding Judge of the Chancery Division, Bergen County, New Jersey, set aside a decedent’s Last Will and Testament, ruling that the Will was the result of undue influence by one of her adult children who was the principal beneficiary of the will. In doing so, Judge Contillo made [...]

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The New Jersey Supreme Court has directed that the Court’s function in construing a decedent’s will is “to ascertain and give effect to the ‘probable intention of the testator.’” Fidelity Union Trust Co. v. Robert, 36 N.J. 561, 564 (1962) (further citations omitted). This function applies to the enforcement of the testator’s intent regarding testamentary [...]

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