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rachelrobinson Asked October 2013

Are there caregivers veterans benefits?

Hi my name is Rachel, I have a question I'm seeing everything about spouses my fiance and I were not married we where together for years he file me as his dependent for years on his 1040 tax return we lived together, Tony developed stage 4 lung and brain cancer he had been in the Navy for 14 years he had a honor discharge from the Navy, from September 2010 up until February 2012 he was taking chemo and radiation treatments I was taking Tony to his doctors appt's 5 times a week, i was preparing his meals doing housekeeping changing his clothing giving Tony his baths his medications just making sure everything was safe and good for Tony, we traveled to Gainsville to the VA hospital a few times in the very end hospice came in half an hour a week to monitor his vitals and medication, I taking him down to the local VA office here in Jacksonville to try and get his benefits stared it we were paying $505 monthly for Cobra insurance for him we were not knowledge what was available to us through the VA and he was not mentally stable to tell me, the Social Security disability gave him 1408 monthly by the time we paid our rent which was a 1000 dollars and paid for his meds and also my meds it was stressful and really stressful watching him die, i would pay someone to sit n watch Tony to make sure everything was good with Tony until i got off work, I end up had to quit my job because he was getting worser and I did not trust anyone else to take care of him and he did not want to die in hospice, please note I'm not complaining at all I really enjoyed taking care of the love of my life I'm just wondering is there any resources out there for me due to now I'm nearly home less l'v been so depressed after his death ii have not found a job yet, I was told by several people that I may be entitled for some VA benefits. Thank you so much for this resource.

wonderful Oct 2013
if you have an honorable discharge from the united states Army Reserve are you eligible for the benefits

gladimhere Oct 2013
This is a very good question, I can see where it could potentially cause issues being a common law marriage. It seems that there are many caregivers caring for vets, that are not married, but after death the vet cannot assist with the investigation and state it was a marriage. I am caring for stepdad that is a vet, if mom passes first, I could potentially, go to the VA and claim that he is a common law spouse. I would never do such a thing, but there are people out there that would. Did you have any joint accounts or anything to show the status of your relationship and the length of time that you were together?

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wamnanealz Oct 2013
I would think as a common law wife you would be eligible. Go to the VA and apply! I know you need his discharge from the service papers to prove that he was in the service. You will probably also have to show proof of your common law marriage. They will tell you what you need to do that! Good Luck, You sound like a very loving person.

TardisTT40 Oct 2013
Speaking as the caregiver of a disabled veteran, there is a LOT of information out there. Not necessarily as a caregiver, but as his spouse, you should be eligible, at the very very least, for Tricare. Given what you've told us above, you would probably also meet the income limit for the medication stipend.

Was he enrolled in VA Care at any point? You can file for disability benefits retroactively at this point, there is a bit of a backlog (even more so with the shutdown in progress atm). Was he disabled DUE TO his service? Have you contacted the Social Worker at the local clinic? The ones in Jax are really very nice if you can get them on the phone! (My dad is with the Gainesville VA as well, but we generally go to the St. Marys, GA outreach since we live in GA)

Can you give us any other info about your husband? Was he stationed overseas? Did he serve in any wars? Was he discharged or did he retire out of the military?

I'd love to be able to help you more, I've waded through SO MUCH with the VA and all its attendant b*llsh*t over the past 5 years, I know it can be difficult, painful and make you want to just give up, but they DO offer a lot of help to veterans and their families, its just about knowing what to ask and where to call to get answers!

Caregivercenter Oct 2013
This is a good question. I am not sure that you would qualify since you were not married. Do you have children? Check with a veterans service officer that is located within your local VA facility. You would need to have all of his information with you. You might be able to apply for something that would be retroactive to when he first got ill but I have never heard of any benefits post-death. Sorry.

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