VA Legal Aid

VA Aid and Attendance is a special Pension Benefit for Wartime Veterans who need financial assistance to stay in their home or in an Assisted Living Facility and who are typically trying to stay out of a Nursing Home Facility.

The three Military Qualifications are:

1. A Veteran must have served at least 90 days of active duty
2. With at least one day during a Declared State of War. These dates have been set by Congress.
3. The Veteran cannot have a Dishonorable Discharge.

No. This benefit is tax free which makes the benefit much more valuable to Veterans as it will not increase their taxable income.

The rules do have income limitations but this is not a gross taxable income limitation and it is not a net taxable income limitation but it is a net income limitation after all “unreimbursed medical expenses” which can include in home care and the monthly cost of an Assisted Living Facility. Therefore the income limitation can be controlled by the Veteran because the Veteran directly controls how much he is spending on in home care or how much he is spending to live in an Assisted Living Facility. If after all “unreimbursed medical expenses” are paid the Veteran has less than $1950 per month, if married or $1650 per month, if single, the VA Aid and Attendance Benefits will pay the veteran enough money raise his monthly income after deducting all “unreimbursed medical expenses” up to the minimum amount of $1950 or $1650.

Example #1

A Married Veteran with the following income and medical expenses:

Example #2

If this Veteran is in need of a limited amount of in home care say $250 per week or $1,000 per month how would this change the VA Aid and Attendance Benefit.

A Married Veteran with the following income and medical expenses:

Once the Veteran began spending $1,000 per month on in home care his monthly VA Aid and Attendance Benefit increased by the same amount $1,000.

Example #3

If this same Veteran were in need of an Assisted Living Facility at a cost of $1,975 per month how would this change the VA Aid and Attendance Benefit.

A Married Veteran with the following income and medical expenses:

This would increase the Veteran’s Gross monthly household income to $4,450. This is the total of his regular income $2,500 plus his monthly VA Aid and Attendance Benefit of $1,950.

Yes. Widows of Wartime Veterans are eligible for the same VA Aid and Attendance Benefits as their spouse except the maximum VA Aid and Attendance Benefit is limited to $1,057 per month.

The VA has estimated that only one in six Widows who are eligible for this benefit are actually receiving it. The other five just don’t know this benefit exists or that they are eligible for it. Why is this. Many times when a Veteran or Widow goes to the local Veteran’s office and asks if they qualify for any benefits the first question they are asked is “Did the Veteran have a service connected disability?” Most people in the Veteran’s office deal with lots of Service Connected Disability claims and many times just don’t think about VA Aid and Attendance which is not a Service Connected benefit. It is a Pension Benefit for Wartime Veterans, even those who were not injured or disabled in a War. Most of the time the person in the VA office just forgets this benefit exists and fails to tell the Veteran or his widow about the benefit. For widows who do qualify for this benefit the process can take 3 to 9 months before she receives her first check. Even though the benefit is relatively easy to qualify for, anyone wanting to apply for this benefit should seek the advice of an Elder Law Attorney knowledgeable about VA Benefits to see if you have any “disqualifying factors” that need to be corrected before you apply. Remember the people in the Veteran’s office cannot give you legal advice or tell you how to correct any “disqualifying factors” you may have. They may submit an application for VA Aid and Attendance they suspect or know will not qualify. Get help from an Elder Law Attorney to correct any “disqualifying factors” you may have before you apply. Get the benefits your spouse has earned and are you entitled to.

No. The typical scenario is when a Veteran is getting in home care or is in an Assisted Living Facility they are typically eligible for VA Aid and Attendance Benefits but not typically eligible for Medicaid (Medicaid will sometimes pay for very limited amounts of in home care and limited amounts in an Assisted Living Facility but many Veterans will not qualify for this type of Medicaid). If the Veteran later goes to a Nursing Home he can keep his VA Aid and Attendance Benefits and will probably get the maximum benefit. However, in most cases this will not be enough to pay the $4,500 to $6,500 monthly nursing home bill, causing the Veteran to eventually spend all his savings to pay his monthly nursing home bill. Upon entering a Nursing Home most Veterans will choose to apply for Medicaid which will cover the entire $4,500 to $6,500 monthly nursing home bill. However, once he qualifies for Medicaid he will lose all but $90 per month of his VA Aid and Attendance Benefit. A Veteran cannot receive both Medicaid and VA Aid and Attendance Benefit at the same time. They must choose one or the other.

It depends. The typical scenario is when a Veteran is getting in home care or is in an Assisted Living Facility they are typically eligible for VA Aid and Attendance Benefits but not typically eligible for Medicaid (Medicaid will sometimes pay for very limited amounts of in home care and limited amounts in an Assisted Living Facility but many Veterans will not qualify for this type of Medicaid). If the Veteran later goes to a Nursing Home he can keep his VA Aid and Attendance Benefits and will probably get the maximum benefit. However, in most cases this will not be enough to pay the $4,500 to $6,500 monthly nursing home bill, causing the Veteran to eventually spend all his savings to pay his monthly nursing home bill. Upon entering a Nursing Home most Veterans will choose to apply for Medicaid which will cover the entire $4,500 to $6,500 monthly nursing home bill. However, once he qualifies for Medicaid he will lose all but $90 per month of his VA Aid and Attendance Benefit. A Veteran cannot receive both Medicaid and VA Aid and Attendance Benefit at the same time. They must choose one or the other.

The rules say a Veteran can have a home, a car and up to $80,000 of other assets such as savings and investments. However, other rules allow the VA to reduce this asset limitation from $80,000 to a lower amount based upon the age of the Veteran and their current medical expenses. In general the older the Veteran is the fewer assets he can have. In general the greater his current medical expenses the more assets he can have getting him closer to the $80,000 amount. Specific dollars amounts for these guidelines are not in the written rules but by talking to people who have prepared and submitted hundreds of applications one can get a pretty good idea of what a specific Veteran can have in savings and investments and still qualify for the VA Aid and Attendance Benefit.

To find out more you can go to the VA website at www.VA.gov.

Yes, But be careful. When making gifts to reduce assets for purposes of qualifying for VA Aid and Attendance Benefits you may accidently disqualify yourself from receiving Medicaid benefits later on. In addition gifts of assets almost always have unexpected and unintended tax consequences which must be carefully considered. In many cases the tax costs can exceed the VA Aid and Attendance Benefit the Veteran could expect to receive. In most gifting situations there are also tax consequences to the recipient of the gift in the form of capital gain and income taxes which can continue and reoccur for years to come. Before gifts are made check with your CPA or tax consultant. The Tax Consequences can be Severe. In addition the way a gift is made can cause the Veteran’s asset to become subject to the creditors, bankruptcy, potential ex-spouses, and lawsuits of the children once they have received the asset. If done properly these problems can be avoided.

The Maximum Monthly VA Aid and Attendance Benefit is:

Yes. A Widow of a Wartime Veteran can qualify for up to $1,057 per month in VA Aid and Attendance Benefits.

Yes. A Widow of a Wartime Veteran can qualify for up to $1,057 per month in VA Aid and Attendance Benefits. For Example:

Example #1

A Widow with the following income and medical expenses:

Example #2

If this Widow is in need of a limited amount of in home care, say $150 per week or $600 per month how would this change the VA Aid and Attendance Benefit?

A Widow with the following income and medical expenses:

Once the Widow began spending $600 per month on in home care her monthly VA Aid and Attendance Benefit increased by the same amount $600.

Example #3

If this same Veteran were in need of an Assisted Living Facility at a cost of $1,975 per month how would this change the VA Aid and Attendance Benefit.

A Married Veteran with the following income and medical expenses:

This would increase the widow’s gross monthly income to $2,307. This is the total of her regular income of $1250 plus her monthly VA Aid and Attendance Benefit of $1,057.