VA Pension: Filing A Claim For Aid & Attendance Benefits

VA Pension:  Filing A Claim For Aid & Attendance Benefits

When you are ready to apply for Aid & Attendance, what is involved in filing a claim?         

VA Pension: Filing A Claim For Aid & Attendance BenefitsIf you think, “You know what, I think I qualify. What do I do to file a claim?”

First we look at the documentation for everyday activities or sometimes it’s called activities of daily living.

I got up this morning, I got in the shower, I got dressed, I went to the bathroom, I got in my car, if I’m hungry I eat. Those are things that I can do on my own. But this form will ask the doctor “Does your father (or your mother or grandfather) need help in these activities?”

Then you have to submit proof of those three requirements: the military, disability or the health, and the financial.

Complete or “Fully Developed” Claim

You get all that together and submit a complete claim. Some people, particularly in the past, would do what’s called an incomplete or an informal claim. I do not recommend doing that. You want to submit a claim and have everything there. Make it easy on the VA so that it is more likely the claim will just go through without any problem.

I’ve seen folks that have filed these informal or incomplete claims and maybe they were doing it on their own or they got some bad advice from a lawyer or from a county VA person or whoever it may be – somebody with the best of intentions, but they’re given bad advice and their claim may linger there for two or three years when it should’ve happened much quicker than that.

Payment of Back Benefits

Once you are approved, the VA will pay the back benefits. Let me describe to you what that is. If you filed in July 2013, so you were approved in December of this year, the VA starts the clock the month after you file. They would say, “August, September, October, November, December.” Five months. If it’s $2,000 a month, they would then send a check or do a deposit for $10,000. That’s how it works.

Let the VA Know if Any Important Changes

If there’s ant important change in your circumstances as you go through this process and as you’re receiving the benefits, you have to let the VA know about that. If you’re working with a VA accredited lawyer, you certainly could give them a call back and say, “Hey, here’s my situation. Do I need to let the VA know? How do I let them know? Is there anything we can do to try to make sure that we do not lose any benefits?”

What to do next

If you have questions about this benefit then we encourage you to investigate it.

You can do so through this website (see links below) or you can call us at 205-879-2447 to set up a scheduled call/meeting or to receive our free book entitled:

How to Avoid Being Forced into a Nursing Home: Discover 5 Simple Steps to Using a Little Known VA Benefit (VA Pension or Aid and Attendance) to Stay in Your Home and Stay Out of a Nursing Home

Contact Us.

If you are ready to meet with us in person or by phone then call us at 1-205-879-2447.

Or, if you prefer, you can fill out our online contact form.

We look forward to chatting with you.

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

-John G. Watts

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