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Unexpected Veterans
Benefit
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Linda and her daughter
Nicole visited the office of an elder law attorney. Nicole
was concerned because her mom recently entered an assisted
living facility and did not have sufficient income to pay
the monthly cost. Linda only had $90,000 in assets and her
monthly shortfall to the assisted living facility was
$1,100. Linda knew her assets would not last long and she
wanted to make sure she had as many options as possible.
After a brief conversation with the attorney, she
discovered that Linda’s husband was a veteran of the
Korean War. Even though Linda’s husband died eight years
ago, the attorney was excited to tell them that Linda may
be eligible for a little known but important benefit of up
to $1056 per month from the Veterans Administration. Linda
was confused as her husband was not retired military. She
had talked to the Veterans Administration and was advised
no benefit was available to her. The attorney explained
that the benefit was for veterans or their surviving
spouse to help pay medically-related expenses, and while
Linda was not currently qualified for the benefit, the
attorney told her that with some simple planning, she
could be eligible in less than 30 days.
In order
to qualify for this benefit, three criteria must be met.
First, the veteran (Linda’s husband) must have served a
minimum of 90 days in active duty. Linda was confident
this requirement had been met. The second requirement was
that at least one of the 90 days of active duty must have
been served during wartime. Since Linda’s husband served
in the Korean War, she was confident he had met that
condition. The third requirement was that Linda must be
able to meet certain income and asset criteria. Linda
became concerned because the attorney told her that she
had too much money to qualify. He did assure her that with
some simple planning, she would be eligible within 30
days. Linda was ecstatic. She began planning with the
attorney immediately and he assisted her in applying for
benefits the next month. Linda now receives $1,056 each
month from the Veterans Administration to help pay for her
assisted living care. Linda was relieved to know that the
benefit would continue even if she was able to return
home. Both Linda and Nicole were thrilled that they were
able to preserve Linda’s assets and provide her with many
options for the long term.
A surviving spouse, who
qualifies for this Veterans’ Aid and Attendance Benefit,
normally would receive $1,056 per month as a surviving
spouse of a veteran. A single or widowed veteran may
receive up to $1,644 per month. If the veteran is married,
he or she can receive up to $1,949 per month.
Only
an attorney or agent who is accredited with the Veterans
Administration can assist with the application for
benefits. As an accredited attorney, he/she is unable to
charge Linda for any work assisting with the application.
If you have questions,
click
here to have our office call to set up a time to
discuss this with you.
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The information contained on this web page is general by its
nature. For that reason, no one should take any action based on
the information contained in this webpage until having consulted
a competent professional advisor or advisors. Nothing contained
in this web page was intended or written to be used, can be used
by any taxpayer, or may be relied upon or used by any taxpayer
for the purposes of avoiding penalties under the Internal
Revenue Code. No information contained on this webpage relating
to any federal tax matter may be used by any person to support
the promotion or marketing or to recommend any federal tax
matter. Taxpayer should seek advice based on the taxpayer's
particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor with
respect to any federal tax transaction or matter described on
this webpage.
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