Law Office of Donald D. Vanarelli Blog

Today, a final regulation was published in the Federal Register (75 FR 59968 ) making it easier for veterans to obtain health care and disability compensation benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for diseases associated with military service in Southwest Asia (including Iraq) or Afghanistan. The final regulation establishes new presumptions of service-connection [...]

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A new ethics opinion by the American Bar Association, Formal Opinion 10-457 (Lawyer Websites), identifies some of the ethical obligations that lawyers should address in considering the content and features of their websites. The major recommendations which I culled from the ethics opinion follow: (1) Information about Lawyers, their Law Firm, or their Clients. No [...]

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(I recently ordered a free DVD from the American Bar Association (ABA). That’s right; it was, surprisingly, actually free. And, another surprise, it has been quite good so far. In addition, the written materials included with the DVD in PDF format are excellent. The DVD, entitled “A Primer on Veterans Administrative Law, Practice and Procedure,” [...]

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In the Estate of Rosa M. Mendoza v. Trenton Psychiatric Hospital and Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health Services, N.J. App. Div. No. A-1553-07T2 (July 20, 2010), the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, affirmed a decision of NJ’s Department of Human Services (DHS) which approved the recommendation of the Compromise Panel [...]

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Following is an exchange posted on a electronic bulletin board devoted to the discussion of issues involving veterans pension and compensation claims. Question: Have you heard that once a veteran is approved for VA Pension benefits with Aid and Attendance supplement, he/she also gets free or discounted prescriptions?  If this is true, how do I [...]

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The concept of what constitutes a “confidential relationship” (one of the elements creating a presumption of undue influence) was examined by the New Jersey Appellate Division in Matter of the Estate of Jewell B. Sykes, N.J. App. Div. No. A-1109-09T2 (Aug. 19, 2010). In Sykes, the decedent’s daughter/co-executor (“Evelyn”) challenged the validity of two leases [...]

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New Jersey estate planning attorneys were again reminded of the conflict of interest minefield they face in In Re Buscavage, N.J. App. Div. No. A-6041-08AT3 (Aug. 25, 2010). Buscavage involved a challenge to trust amendments made by the decedent, Joseph Buscavage, in the final year of his life, which favored certain members of his family, [...]

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Lawyers who regularly deal with elderly and disabled clients like I do often confront the issue of client capacity. Under our professional rules, a lawyer may represent a client who has less than full capacity, although a lawyer is precluded from representing a client who lacks capacity. The issue confronting the lawyer involves properly assessing [...]

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In an August 10, 2010 opinion that was approved for publication, the New Jersey Appellate Division addressed the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) and its impact on New Jersey’s Nursing Home Responsibilities and Rights of Residents Act (“Residents’ Rights Act”). Estate of Ruszala v. Brookdale Living Communities, Inc., No. A-4403-08T1 (N.J. Super. App. Div. Aug. 10, [...]

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