My husband has been receiving the maximum VA disability pension because of multiple health problems caused by exposure to asbestos and agent orange during the Vietnam war. We were told that when he passes, I would receive the full amount of the disability pension if he had been receiving it for at least 10 years while we are married. But it sounds like from the initial article that's not true. Does anyone know the answer? Would I have to apply all over again and would I receive the full amount which is currently the maximum disability benefit allowed?  I would not be able to survive financially without that because I would only have my social security and the equity in our home. Thanks.
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Once the process is started, enlist the assistance of your state representative. They have been
wonderful in assisting me to get spousal benefits.
Good luck to all.
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This article barely scratches the surface on what you need to know. The veteran must have actually served during a war, and not just stateside. The asset limit doesn't include your house, the income limit is what you have left after paying all your medical bills each month. The current asset limit is $129,000. If you are denied for too much income or assets, you can reapply later when your assets or income are lower. If your kids are giving you money, have them make it as a loan, not a gift. The local VA chapter or elder law attorneys can help if you can't figure it out. If you fill out the forms wrong you will be rejected. Very picky.
Here's what they say:
https://www.va.gov/pension/how-to-apply/

Here is a VA tips list for healthcare which may be very similar.
https://www.va.gov/opa/choiceact/documents/1010EZ-fillable.pdf

The rules for pension are here if you're one who likes to read the actual wording.
https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=ad275643432556b9dda942343fb89296&mc=true&node=pt38.1.3&rgn=div58#se38.1.3_1271

Go to the forum and see what advice you can get from those who have done it already and succeeded.
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Bobbi250 I tried to get help from the VA for my husband who was in the Korean War and did go overseas, but after filling out many applications and seeing different people in the VA he still is not qualified because he has no service-connected disability. He is 86, diabetic, can hardly walk due to his bad back, is totally deaf and has dementia. All I wanted was a bit of financial help to have him go to day care twice a week with their program that is specifically for this. No soap! We live on my and his pensions and SS. The VA has helped many but many have gotten no help also....
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my daddy served in the korean war and i don’t think he ever received or looked into a veterans pension we tried once just to get help with his teeth and that was a mess well he passed away in december of 2016 is my mom entitled to any help she had her big toe and part of her foot amputated in march and almost died in rehabilitation therapy twice she is home now she does receive home care until next week but she is living in a house where you can’t put water down her kitchen sink and there is no working bath or shower she is 81 years old lives on social security but she does have a farm that she just breaks even on can we get any help i live in another state and have my own health issues and my brother is done with her i am also taking care of my father in law who is moving in with us the middle of july please help
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Everyone keeps saying no but going to ask again. I was married for about 38 years and my former spouse served 4 years in the navy during the vietman war. We divorced in 2003 and he since remarried. Last year 2017 he passed away from ALS saying service related so received benefits. So am I out of all benefits, if any, due that we got divorced. It isn't fair. can she apply for more benefits? Unfortunately his service was not addressed in the divorce degree . l
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My family member is a Vietnam veteran and his daughter requires total
care and he is know 70 years old and has a family member that will help with the adult child, but he would like to know if his daughter would be entitled to his VA benefits since his wife is deceased and the
daily care of his daughter at his age has become very challenging. If anyone knows how to get assistance. I would greatly apperciate any guidance.
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I enlisted the help of my local Veteran's Service Office in completing the VA Aid & Assistance application for my mother. We sent it in on March 19th and received an award letter on April 13 (less than 30 days). It did however take several months for me to receive my father's military service statement, but once I had all the documents, the application was pretty simple. I am now waiting for the VA to interview me to serve as the Fiduciary.
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Does anyone have info on Veteran Angels?
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The rights of veterans are constantly improving, but now veterans fells bad. And every day worse and worse. I hope Trump will pay attention to problems with the veteran. Now in America there are a lot of homeless veterans or disabled veterans of america who can not provide for themselves. They are helped only by the organizations of the help to veterans who are sponsored by charity. The largest organization is the Veterans of America https://www.va.gov/, but there are smaller organizations that also contribute a lot to helping veterans https://www.vfw.org/, http://www.vetsvision.org /
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Want to live in a indapendant living apartment for va seniors am wheel chaired handicap due to severe arthritis in both knees do I qualify for VA assistance
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I'm trying to find my husband's dd 214's and I just keep getting the run around he served from 1954 - 1963 during the Korean War. But never went overseas I have been told he's not considered a vet. I just wanted to find out if there were any benefit he was entitled to. Could someone please tell me.
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my husband was in the Vietnam war and has died ...am I entitled to any life time benefits
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Do these VA benefits for aging parents in need
also apply to Merchant Marines serving in the 1950's?
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this is a very informative article :) thanks for this it is a light in my life
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Dear Punnster, Thank you for your service.
You can google "Veteran Homes" to see if there is a facility in your area. VA Homes take a percentage of your income (&VA benefits if you have them) and are usually much less expensive than assisted living or board & care. But because of that, they usually have waiting lists. As a Korean vet, you would be given a high priority for admittance and even more so if you have a service-connected disability. You also want to talk to a VSO Veterans Service Officer with your county to be sure you get all the benefits you are entitled to. If that route is not helpful, a Medicaid county worker can help you with something helping you parttime in your home and a very few counties have assisted living with Medicaid waivers for lower rent. Be aware that trying to get VA and Medicaid at the same time is a paper chase. The best to you.
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Caring for our handicapped son, our worries are, upon our demise,we often wonder if there will be a safe place for him to live. Hoping there are places for him to go to
that he could live out the rest of his his life with minimal help.
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I'm 82, Korean vet and bit disabled. I'm living alone and can take care of most basic needs, but with some difficulty and risk. I have fallen and broken hip and have persistent knee problem. I have to use a walker. Have an equilibrium problem too.I am wondering about assisted living options.
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Mecab, you need to go online to the VA site to see what regional office takes care of claims for your area. We live in the DC area and our claim went to the regional VFW office then sent on to Philly. The office that actually monitored the claim was out of Indianapolis and that is where I called to talk to people, that is where I called to let them know that my mother had passed away in March. Like I said to another person on this forum call the VA either just as they open in the morning EST or before Central time zone opens. The wait on hold is the shortest early in the morning or in the evening when Arizona day ends.
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I need to know why my 90 year old father-in-law has applied for VA benefits for his assisted living and we have still not herd anything? It's been 3 months and my husband and I are paying 2750.00 every month for him to live there. The VA what is the problem? My father has been in every war and fought for this country so many times, he is a retired Veteran and went in at the age of 17, please explain why we have not heard anything? I can't wait to let the Senators and everyone else that will listen.
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My mother was already in assisted living and we were spending down her savings quickly. There are limits as to how much a person can have to qualify, I was told under 40k. I did not know about the letter of intent to file and I did not do one. Since they had record of my inquiry to getting discharge papers back in 2012 ( I was thinking ahead) they started the file date on the date that I sent in my complete package in Aug. 2014. I waited 4 months before I called and was told that mom's file had not left the Philadelphia office still. I wrote a letter asking for expediency in her case due to dwindling funds, still nothing. May 2015, I called again and was told that I had filled out the form wrong. I had written N/A instead of 0's in the financial section. I down loaded another copy of that page and faxed it back, a lady called me and we completed the form online together. First check came in Aug. 2015 for Sept payment. I met with the field officer in Oct. to establish me as mom's fiduciary, opened a separate new bank account only for VA funds only in Dec. January 15, 2016 mom's retro payment was deposited. Mom passes away in March and I called to notify the VA and did not have to return funds which was good because I was able to use them for her funeral and Cemetary costs.
If you are applying for benefits from a vet who was her first marraige and your mother remarried a non vet she will not be qualified. Now if her second marraige was to a WW2 vet and she married him within 10 years of his discharge then she should qualify because of his service or if he was in the Korean War. The veteran must have served in a war zone to have earned this benefit, if they stayed stateside she would not qualify either.
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bs, were able to just file a letter or did you have to file an actual form? I was told last year they'd implemented an actual form that had to be filed and since that hadn't been done the clock hadn't been started on the claim while at the time they'd wanted us to do a fully developed one, the discharge papers weren't a problem, had already gotten those from, but the 1099 from SS was always a problem but thinking they either came in early this time or something because they ended up getting turned in seemingly before I thought they even came in, the marriage license was a big issue since she'd been married before and both marriages were done out of state but that I'd been told an affidavit would do, just hadn't been able to get that done either till, like you, found somebody to walk through the process, that hadn't retired, which is what happened with the one who told me about the affidavit.
Was your mother already in the assisted living while you were doing all this?
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bean126, you had inperson interviews and home visits? after you got the A&A? I mean, dad's VSO came out in person and took down his initial info but I thought that was just something he did personally since they'd been in the American Legion together for years and then later the fiduciary guy came out and interviewed him for that but that was all
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I down loaded the forms off of the VA website. The website will tell you what paperwork you will need to apply. The first thing that you need to do is to send a letter of intent to file so that the VA will start the clock on your claim when they receive your letter of intent. I had to get a copy of my father's discharge papers, have my mother's 1099 from SS, copy of my parents marriage license, and a copy of my father's death certificate. I then called the VFW and worked with a volunteer there who walked me through the process. If you call the VA try calling either very close to when the office first opens on the east coast or near the end of the day when the west coast office will be closing within the hour. For us it took 10 months but but payments retro active back to the date that we first applied.
I don't know where you live but in our area there are plenty of small assisted living homes where the patient has a bedroom in a house. All needs are taken care of like meals, laundry, cleaning, medication management ect. At some homes there is no overnight awake staff but there are homes that do have care 24/7. Also, we choose a home that was a "age in place" home where hospice came to service my mother, she passed away at this home. Going to a smaller size assisted living home we paid nearly 1/3 of what a commercial assisted living home cost or a nursing home.
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I tried for years to get benefits from VA for my father. I was led astray many times. I finally got some traction but my father passed in his 90s. I received calls from different VA groups since but once I mentioned he passed the call ends. My mother could certainly use the aid because the cost of assisted living is outrageous! She will be broke soon and I hope to find a medicare facility
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The A&A applications are online
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I take care of my parents, my Dad is a Vietnam Vet and my mother who is ill. how can I apply to be there caregiver so I can get paid and take the financial burden off them? I can't find the applications anywhere.
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Anne-Marie, this is such a great article. I meet people weekly at the VA Hospital and yes a lot of people are not aware of these. I am helping Veterans with the Aid and Attendance benefit. This is such a great program and many people do need it. I also speak with the caregivers that as so thankful when they hear that the loved one is eligible for someone to come and help.
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Great article. Thank you for doing this website. I long - distanced cared for my parents , both WWII Vets, over 5 years. Didn't know about the turning 65 and not needing to be ill benefits. Wish I had, as both parents were in debt and I struggled as an only child living far away to help them as much as I could. Tried for Mom on my own and never got benefits for her. After she died, I hired an experienced Vet benefits agency to help for Dad (paid $850) and got benefits for him. The Agency was so helpful and I wished I'd known about them when Mom was alive.
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VA Aid and Attendance benefits were a well kept secret for my family. My Dad, the veteran, never received any benefits because we were unaware of them. My Mom, the surviving spouse, is now able to live in a decent Memory Care home because of these benefits. I am very grateful.
The application process is very detailed, but definitely worth it. I was assisted by a group called Veterans Angels Inc. They were very helpful. The VA does have a good oversight process, that includes in-person interviews and home visits. I don't like to think about people who steal their aging parents' meager benefits, but I do know it happens. I gladly comply to the VA requirements so that my mother can live out her days in a good place.
I spread the word whenever I feel it may help. Vets and their spouses deserve all the benefits they can get!
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