Law Office of Donald D. Vanarelli

The Law Office of Donald D. Vanarelli, located in Westfield, New Jersey, provides a broad range of legal services for seniors, the disabled and their families, and families in conflict. We successfully guide our clients through the complex areas of income, estate and gift tax laws, public benefits planning, trial advocacy and court procedures, and the administrative process. Our attorneys offer legal services in the following areas of practice:

-- Medicaid and Public Benefits Planning
-- Special Needs and Disability Planning
-- Guardianship and Fiduciary Services
-- Will Contests, Probate Litigation and Elder Abuse Trials
-- Medicaid Applications and Medicaid Appeals
-- Comprehensive Life Care Planning
-- Nursing Home Law and Litigation
-- Estate Planning and Administration
-- VA Compensation and Pension Benefits
-- Social Security Disability Appeals
-- Family Law Services
-- Dispute Resolution Services: Elder Mediation, Collaborative Law, Divorce Mediation

Credentials
-- Recipient, Lifetime Achievement Award, by the NJ State Bar Association, Elder & Disability Law Section.
-- Certified Elder Law Attorney, National Elder Law Foundation, accredited by the ABA.
-- Named to the Super Lawyer list for twelve (12) years, from 2007 through 2018.
-- Rated “AV Preeminent” by Martindale-Hubbell, Signifying Professional Excellence.
-- Lead counsel in In re Keri, a landmark NJ Supreme Court case in which guardians, for the first time, were permitted to engage in public benefits planning to obtain Medicaid eligibility for their wards.
-- Lead counsel in Saccone v. Police and Firemen’s Retirement System, in which the NJ Supreme Court, for the first time, permitted a special needs trust to be designated as the beneficiary of a state pension.
-- Co-counsel in Galletta v. Velez, in which a federal court, for the first time, held that VA pension benefits are not countable in determining Medicaid eligibility.
-- Past Chair, Elder and Disability Law Section, NJ State Bar Association..
-- Founding Member, Academy of Special Needs Planners.
-- Founding Member, Council of Advanced Practitioners, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.
-- Accredited by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
-- Certified as a National Certified Guardian by the Center for Guardianship Certification.
-- Selected as a panelist on the Union County Probate Early Settlement Panel.
-- Approved as a Mediator under the New Jersey Court Rules.
-- Recognized as an Accredited Professional Mediator.
-- Co-founder of the Elder Mediation Center of New Jersey.
-- Former Director, NJ Association of Professional Mediators.
-- Named to the list of Top Rated NJ Lawyers.
-- Trained as a Collaborative Law Professional.
-- Former Social Security Claims Representative for SSI and Medicaid claims.

ELDER LAW ATTORNEY SERVICES
-- Estate Planning and Administration
-- Social Security Disability Appeals
-- Will Contests and Probate Litigation
-- Special Needs and Disability Planning
-- Guardianships and Fiduciary Services
-- Medicaid and Public Benefits Planning
-- Medicaid Applications
-- Medicaid Appeals
-- Elder Abuse Actions
-- Nursing Home Law and Litigation
-- VA Compensation and Pension Benefits
-- Family Law Services
-- Mediation
-- Collaborative Law