Recently, an all too familiar situation arose again. A client called to say he received his first $1,644 monthly check from the Veterans Administration. He told me this was going to make a big difference in his life. Last year he fell and broke his hip and had to move in with his son and daughter-in-law. The client could no longer live on his own without assistance, but his family is happy to help.

This client contacted our office after being told he did not qualify for VA pension (aid and attendance) benefits.  The person who communicated this to the client said that because he “had not been injured in the war, he was not eligible.” They also said that his income was “just too high.”  Even the VA’s own representatives are sometimes unclear about who qualifies for this underused benefit that gives monthly cash payments to qualified vets.  The person who spoke to this client did not know that all World War II, Korean War and Vietnam veterans are entitled up to $1,644 per month ($1,949 a month if the vet is married) if their doctor says that they need daily assistance for their care. There is no requirement that the veteran be injured while on duty, or even to have served in the war theater.

The VA will also pay a relative to provide this daily in home care (when done properly with the assistance of a VA accredited attorney). The VA will also help pay for assisted living facilities. Often, if a senior combines his Social Security benefits, plus these VA benefits, they can pay for a much nicer assisted living facility than they would be able to pay for on their Social Security alone. Or, be able to afford in-home care and stay at home.

Widows of veterans may also be eligible for up to $1,056 per month to cover similar healthcare expenses. This is only if they did not divorce the veteran, or remarry, and if they remarried their second husband was also a qualified veteran.

In regards to the income limits, many people don’t understand that the veteran’s medical expenses (including a caregiver’s cost, insurance premiums, medical supplies, etc..) are deductible from the vet’s stated income on the benefit application.  So once you deduct the medical expenses from the regular income, many vets do actually qualify.

Here is just a partial list of incorrect statements that have been made in connection with the aid and attendance pension benefit offered by the US government:

• You can’t get VA benefits because you were not injured in combat;
• You can’t get VA benefits because you did not serve overseas;
• You can’t get VA benefits because your assets are too high;
• You can’t get VA benefits because your income is too high;
• You can’t get VA benefits because you are only a widow of a veteran;
• You can’t get VA benefits because you only served in the Merchant Marines;
• You can’t get VA benefits because you only served in the Coast Guard.

I am a VA accredited attorney and I can practice before the Veterans Administration. I am a member of the Academy of VA Pension Planners and work closely with Jim Swain, a nationally recognized expert on VA Pension and Estate Planning.  I can give legal advice regarding how to qualify you for benefits, which may also include the use of estate planning tools (living trusts, irrevocable trusts, gifts, etc..) to help qualify you for your VA pension benefit.  It would take hundreds of thousands of dollars in the bank earning interest to equal these cash income payments available to qualified Vets through the VA Pension program. Be sure you have all the facts on this valuable benefit.

If you call our office we can connect you to one of our case managers who will review the benefits and interview you to determine whether you qualify for the pension benefit, and how much you are entitled to receive. This is a free call.  There is no risk and no obligation. Let us see if you have benefits that you are not taking advantage of, after all – you earned them!

Call Shawn McCammon, local attorney and principal of Liberty Law, APC., at the Redding (530.246.1152) or Red Bluff office (530.529.4329) to get your free evaluation started today! Every day you wait could be money lost.