Law Office of Donald D. Vanarelli Blog

Very often, family members provide assistance in caring for an aged or disabled loved one.  The assistance is often provided at great personal and financial sacrifice by the family member involved in care-giving. One way to alleviate the financial sacrifice experienced by the care-giver to some extent is by utilizing a Personal Services Contract (“PSC”). [...]

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(The following is part of a discussion, taken from a listserv, or electronic bulletin board, concerning benefits available for veterans, their dependents and survivors from the Department of Veterans Affairs.) Question: I have a client who has applied for Aid and Attendance Benefits (A&A) from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The client is moving [...]

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Here are my selections for the top ten (10) twelve (12) New Jersey elder law / public benefits / Medicaid cases decided in 2010: (1) R.C. v. Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services and Hudson County Board of Social Services, OAK DKT. NO. HMA 08047 – 10 (Hudson County, October 22, 2010): Judge Awards [...]

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A New Jersey administrative law judge (ALJ) recently held, contrary to a court order awarding wages for services rendered, that a payment to the adult children of a Medicaid applicant for services rendered under a power of attorney was properly considered to be a gift by the State’s Division of Medical Assistance and Health Service [...]

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A New Jersey appeals court recently held that a life care contract between a nursing home resident and her daughter, in which the resident paid her daughter a lump sum for the future provision of personal care services, is not a transfer for fair market value for the purposes of Medicaid eligibility. E.S. v. Division [...]

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In a matter involving personal service agreements, five petitioners brought a court action challenging determinations by the Oneida County and Herkimer County Department of Social Services (DSS) which denied Medicaid benefits to applicants who had executed personal service agreements while residing in a nursing home.  In each case, DSS found there had been a transfer [...]

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Combining a series of related cases, a New York appeals court determined that five Medicaid applicants’ personal service agreements that provide lump sum payments for future services are transfers of assets for less than fair market value. Matter of Barbato v. New York State (N.Y. Sup. Ct., App. Div., 4th Dept., No. 711 TP 08-02216, Aug. [...]

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As I reported in a blog post in October at http://www.dvanarelli.com/blog/2008/10/07/nj-judge-recently-ruled-that-a-medicaid-applicants-prepayment, ALJ Paone ruled, in a case entitled C.S. v. Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services and Union County Board of Social Services, that Medicaid applicants who prepaid for personal care services to be provided in the future by family members under Life Care Contracts were ineligible for [...]

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The pace of decisions in Medicaid appeals has picked up recently, with several significant decisions being rendered in courts and administrative agencies in New Jersey. As a result, there has been a spike in interest by attorneys who seek to identify and understand the estate planning strategies that can successfully accelerate eligibility for Medicaid benefits [...]

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What emerging case law is demonstrating about Medicaid planning techniques: SITUATION PLANNING TECHNIQUE Applicant does not have a community spouse Use a promissory note with a “gift and loan” strategy. G.L. v. DMAHS, Docket No. HMARP 05080-2008N (Middlesex County), Final Agency Decision Oct. 23, 2008. Applicant has a community spouse Use funds above the resource [...]

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