No she will not as it is a Federal program. She is required, however, to notify the VA of change of address and any change in financial circumstances (both income and expenses).
Hi Grace, I don't think so but it may depend more on her living situation because the VA is federal run not state. Was she living in an assisted living facility? I'm curious as to how she qualified and her living circumstances that qualified her because I'm trying to apply for aid and assistance through the VA for my mother and it seems like a very complicated process. Do you mind sharing your mothers circumstance? I believe if your mother is going to still need outside care that aid and assistance should still apply because of the expense involved.
My mother in law moved from assisted living in another state to our home and we only had to notify the VA of the change in her living situation. We obtained a caregiver agreement with her and submitted it to them along with her change of address. It was fairly simple in the grand scheme of things.
LaureenW - We were able to get this VA benefit for my mother as well. Main criteria is that she or her spouse served during wartime and you have all of the required documentation. We were walked through the very complicated process, as you say, very capably by an entity that does this - here's the contact info. If you go to their website, you should be able to get additional info or just contact them via email or phone - good luck!!
Veterans Home Care NYJ LLC Veterans Home Care is not a government agency and is not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs
Yes, please keep the VA and DOD notified of her new address. They tend to list old addresses long after you have left. Good for her in getting A&A. I could not seem to get all their required documents and hubby will die before I do.
My dad passed away in June 2011 and my mom who had an early onset dementia diagnosis in 2009 lived in their home together without assistance. My dad also had dementia and physical limitations that kept him housebound. My mom's dementia progressed at a slower rate than expected. She was 79 when she started having issues with extreme anxiety. After my dad's death her doctor said that she could not live alone because he felt part of what gave her purpose was helping my dad which is true. I live in Ca. and she was in Mass. but would not move so after some persuading she agreed to move to a Assisted Living in her city. My husband and I signed to be responsible for the balance since she had limited income and no assets. After moving her in and before heading back to Ca. the individual who had made the arrangements for her to move in asked if my mom or dad were Veteran's during WW2. My dad was in the Army during that time and was honorable discharged. She advised me to go to a meeting that they were having concerning VA benefits and that recently AL had been added and could be used for AL if she qualified. I went to the meeting and based on what I was hearing my mom would qualify. I was advised that the process could be as long as a year but it would be dated back to the date of application if they approved her. Then my journey began. I received the packet that asked basic questions about her income, asstst and why she needed to live in a AL. There was a number to call BEFORE I mailed anything in and someone went over the application with me and advised me to word things that would clarify more of her situation and I mailed it in. That was July 2011 and I would occasionally get a form letter saying that they were still working on her application and in July 2012 my mom received an approval letter stating that she did qualify but with her dementia diagnosis she would need a Fiduicary to handle the $ from the VA. She named me and mailed it off to the address given. I had been advised that it could take several months for her to start receiving her benefit. I had to agree on the form to have my credit checked as well as a back ground check. I had no problem with either one. The same time she was approved I moved her to Ca. to an AL near where I live. I had been making regular trips back to see her and talk with her doctors. On July 18th she moved into her new AL in Ca. and I notified the VA of the address change. In Aug. 2012 I received a call asking where I would like the check to be deposited and letting me know that someone from the Fiduicary dept. would be in contact with me soon. In Aug. my mom started receiving checks deposited into the account that her SS and small pension went into. She was advised that they were holding back the retro-active until a Fiduicary could be named since she had not selected anyone. THIS IS WHEN MY EXPERIENCE WITHE THE VA BECAME NEARLY A FULL TIME JOB. I sent a letter stating that my mom had requested me and included another form signed by my mom. I did not hear from them for a couple of months so I sent another letter asking what the problem was with my being named her Fiduicary and received a letter back that they had no information with me named to be the Fiduicary. This went back and forth for months and I could not talk to anyone in that dept. The letter said to call an 800 number if I had any questions and when did I would be told the same thing that the approval process takes time. My mom need the money owed her to help pay toward another year at the AL because I could not do it for the following year due to our own financial issues.. In March someone in the dept. that did the original approval said she wished she could help me but that was not her dept. She advised me to send one more letter which would be #5 and if I still was not hearing or still getting the same form letter that they did not have a Fiduicary on file to contact my Representative in DC. I waited until early May and then wrote my Senator explaining my mom's situation and received a response back in two weeks telling me who in her office was handling this issue with the VA. Within a few days I received a call from her local office asking for more specifics and he said he would contact the VA official who works with the Representatives in Congress. I was told it could take a few weeks for the VA to respond but that they would let me know what the situation was with her claim. I received a copy of an email that the VA sent to the Senators's office saying he would look into it right away. I did hear from the VA saying they needed to interview me and speak to my mom so the SF area would take over and that I would hear in a couple of weeks. Three weeks passed and I called the 800 number and was told once again it takes time. I contacted the Senator's office and said I had not received a call and on July 1st it would be two years since she first applied and year since she received her first check but they were holding around $13,000.00 back. I had spoken to the young man helping me at the Senator's office in the morning and within a few hours I received a call to set up the appt. for the Fiduicary approval. The agent I spoke to was surprised that it had taken so long but that they had only recently received it and was going to set up an appt. I do not know if this is true or not but I had an appt. for a sit down meeting three days from that phone call. She met me at the AL and asked my mom some questions about her care there and if she wanted me to handle her finances from the VA and she said yes and signed one more time. Within 10 days I had the Fiduicary letter approveval and in August two checks were deposited into the new Fiduicary Acct. her August payment and the additional money that they were holding. This was my experience. I have read on web-sites better results and some worse than mine. I sent a letter to my Senator thanking her for the help her office gave especially the individual who moved it along and how he kept in touch with me. There was going to be an audit a year later which there was but that is a another experience I am trying to forget. I do not know if this helps but this is what my experience was wiht the VA Fiduicary Dept.
Wow, that is quite a story. I live in the San Francisco Bay area as well. I will look for someone to help me go over my paper work as well. I wa told that I need a third part disclosure letter in order to file the claim for my mother. She has a very bad case of rhumetoid arthrits and is no longer able to care for herself and my husband and I live in a small condo. We tried to sell it along with a rental we have but the market does not allow for contingencies so we've had no luck. We wanted to buy a house so she could live with us, so we found a more affordable AL in Manteca, CA. Thank you for sharing your story, it really helps!
The company that helped me was Veteransfinancial They do financial planning and stuff like that too but they help me in filling out the forms and answer questions. They did not try to sell me any services but only helped me with my mom applying to the VA. If they do as good a job with their financial planning as the help they gave me I would use them if I needed something along that line. They might be able to answer about the third party disclosure because I was not asked for anything like that. Since you live in Ca. it was Senator Feinstein who helped me with the VA.
Also if you have a place that Veterans can go to nearby I heard that they also help in filling out and helping with the process. If I had to do it all over again that is what I would have done after the approval.
We have helped so many people thru this process, In metro Atlanta GA The key is supplying ALL the right forms at submission and understanding the fiduciary process as well.Knowing about the benefit is not near enough; having an understanding of the requirements is another story, and how it is administered. Why learn from your mistakes, when the tool is already there! There are also many subjective issues and unclear limits on assets and income Unfortunately the VA proposed in the Federal Register in Jan, rules to make this benefit even more difficult to navigate.
Veterans Home Care NYJ LLC
Veterans Home Care is not a government agency and is not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs
The key is supplying ALL the right forms at submission and understanding the fiduciary process as well.Knowing about the benefit is not near enough; having an understanding of the requirements is another story, and how it is administered. Why learn from your mistakes, when the tool is already there!
There are also many subjective issues and unclear limits on assets and income
Unfortunately the VA proposed in the Federal Register in Jan, rules to make this benefit even more difficult to navigate.