Law Office of Donald D. Vanarelli Blog

In a probate case entitled In the Matter of the Estate of Rose Rappaport, 866 N.Y.S.2d 483 (Sur. Ct. Nassau County, September 29, 2008), the decedent was survived by four adult children, one of whom was disabled.  A guardian ad litem was appointed for the child with a disability.  A trust was created under Article [...]

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Each month, the Social Security Administration (SSA) produces a report ranking all of the hearings offices in the agency based upon the average time to process an appeal at the Office of Hearings and Appeals level. The report is based upon the average time taken by SSA to process all claims completed in the month [...]

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According to a recent article in the August 24th edition of The Dallas Morning News, seniors battered by the tough economy are selling their life insurance policies to replenish their retirement nest eggs.  Unlike younger investors, older adults may not have the time to wait for the market to recover all of their losses, so [...]

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Attorneys certified in elder law offer something that other attorneys do not:  professional expertise in the unique needs of older, maturing populations and those people with disabilities. A Certified Elder Law Attorney (also called a “CELA”) is not just an authority on legal issues affecting seniors, he or she is also familiar with other vital [...]

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Judges, like everyone else, have been affected by the treasure trove of information available on the internet, and have slowly begun basing judicial decisions on internet sources. However, until recently citing internet sources in judicial opinions has been a haphazard affair, with little guidance provided anywhere on how to identify reliable sources, how to present [...]

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About 50 million retired and disabled Americans receive Social Security benefits. The average monthly benefit for retirees is $1,153 this year. Social Security benefits are increased each year to keep pace with increases in the cost-of-living. The cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is pegged to inflation. However, since inflation has been negative this year, the trustees who [...]

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A new New York form updating and replacing the old New York Power of Attorney form has been developed and is available below on this blog. Also available on this blog is the new New York Statutory Major Gifts Rider form that must be completed in order to grant an agent under a power of [...]

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The Elder Mediation Center of New Jersey (EMC-NJ), a collaborative alliance of independent mediators, attorneys and a geriatric care manager, will present a training session for mediators who wish to expand their knowledge of the specialized field of elder mediation. The training session, to be held on November 10, 2009 from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 [...]

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As I blogged here, the New Jersey appellate court, in N.M. v. Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services, 405 N.J. Super. 353  (App. Div. 2009), certif. den., 199 N.J. 517 (2009), held that an annuity purchased for the sole benefit of the community spouse after the effective date of the Deficit Reduction Act of [...]

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Gregory Herman-Giddens, Esq., an attorney and certified financial planner, writes the North Carolina Estate Planning Blog, a good source of news from the estate planning arena. On August 5th, Gregory blogged about his prediction for upcoming legislative events involving the federal estate tax. He says the prediction is based on “inside sources”, and it does [...]

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