Law Office of Donald D. Vanarelli Blog

We will announce the re-opening on the home page of www.dvanarelli.com very soon.
Thank you for your patience.

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The federal statute concerning the stimulus checks exempts them from being counted as income by any federally funded program like Medicaid or SSI. Further, the checks are not counted as resources in the month of receipt or the following two months.The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a notice on this issue which [...]

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In a ruling that overturned close to 30 years of legal precedent in the area of family law as well as an appeals court decision that said there is no basis for a palimony suit unless a couple lived together, the New Jersey Supreme Court recently ruled that judges should consider the “entirety” of a [...]

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Processing times for Social Security determinations have reached intolerable levels. For instance, the average processing time for cases at the hearing level has increased dramatically since 2000, when the average time was 274 days. In the current fiscal year, SSA estimates that the average processing time for disability claims at the hearing level will be [...]

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Many states are now giving Medicaid-eligible seniors a monthly stipend they can use to hire family, friends and/or professionals to care for them at home. The program, called Cash and Counseling, already exists in 15 states and is expected to be implemented soon in 18 more.
Cash and Counseling offers Medicaid consumers who have disabilities more [...]

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NJBIZ is a weekly magazine covering business news in New Jersey. In the May 5, 2008 edition of NJBIZ, the top 25 mediators in the Business/Commercial practice areas were identified by the publication. The selections were based on the total number of cases mediated. I am proud to report that I was rated No. 20 [...]

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Hundreds of health care workers braved windswept rain outside the Statehouse recently to protest nearly $200 million in proposed cuts to hospitals and nursing homes. Many wore surgical masks that read, “These cuts make me sick.” Most of the hospital cuts proposed in Gov. Jon Corzine’s budget would come from money [...]

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New Jersey issued updated numbers for calculating Medicaid eligibility in 2008. They are:
Minimum Community Spouse Resource Allowance - $20,880.00
Maximum Community Spouse Resource Allowance - $104,400.00
Resource Allowance for an Individual - $2,000.00
Resource Allowance for a Couple (both husband and wife in a nursing home) - $3,000.00
Minimum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance through July 2008- $1,711.25
Maximum Monthly Maintenance [...]

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In McAuliffe vs. Benish, Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, plaintiffs, the adult daughters of the decedent testator, brought a lawsuit against the romantic partner of their deceased father, seeking an order directing her to pay the estate and inheritance taxes on the home that she inherited from the decedent as joint tenant with [...]

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Until recently, I paid absolutely no attention to the annual announcement of New Jersey’s Super Lawyers. Having practiced law for 25 years, I’d seen my share of wins and losses, both the result of hard work, mental toughness and grit, with the wins often separated from the losses by what seemed to me to be [...]

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