The VA annually updates the amount paid to Veterans and widows for the Improved Pension Program. Here are the latest amounts which became effective December 1 , 2019 and will likely continue until December 1, 2020.
How to Represent a Claimant Before the VA: Preparing and Submitting an Application
LWP’s Director of VA Services, Matthew Donald, Esq., provides an overview of preparing and submitting an application for the VA Improved Pension Claim.
“VA out of money for private healthcare” What does it mean?
Many of you might have seen recent news reports with a headline that read something to the like “VA out of money for private healthcare”. Here is a link to one such news story from the AP. I want to take a minute to explain what they are talking about so that there isn’t any confusion.
I want to reassure our members, Veterans and their families that this funding shortfall does not in any way impact what we do through the Veterans Improved Pension at any level. This funding is specifically about the Veterans Choice program.
On September 26, 2017 the Trump administration released a statement that the Veterans Choice program may need additional funding by December to be able to continue to provide private-sector healthcare to Veterans enrolled in the program.
The Veterans Choice program is a program that began in April 2014 and is designed to provide Veterans with an alternative to the traditionally long wait times for service through the VA. Under the Veterans Choice program a Veteran may request care in the private-sector if the Veteran is unable to be seen at a VA facility within 30 days of the request by the Veteran or the Veteran lives more than 40 miles from a VA facility. There are other criteria as well that would allow a Veteran to use the Veterans Choice program.
To learn more about the Veterans Choice program click here.
Again, the funding shortfall does not impact the Improved Pension program but it may impact the Veterans you serve.
How a Law Firm Can Serve the Veterans in Their Community
Sabrina A. Scott, the Director of VA Services for LWP talks about how elder law and estate planning attorneys can serve the veterans in their community by legally and responsibly representing them and their families in Department of Veterans Affairs claims for non-service-connected disability pension benefits.
Victory? A VA Case Study
The Government Benefits Team at Victoria Collier’s firm prepares, files, and follows up on all VA and Medicaid applications. Though I can say that the majority of our applications are processed from submission to approval in a fairly straightforward manner, that is not always the case. As an introduction to the type of work that our Government Benefits Team does, I want to tell you about a challenging VA case that one might say we recently resolved successfully. Names and personal information have been omitted to protect privacy.
Our client is a widowed Army veteran who served during the Korean War. He had moved to an assisted living facility in September 2010 due to numerous medical conditions, including dementia, diabetes and coronary artery disease, when his family consulted the firm later that same year. The fully developed claim for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Improved Pension with Aid & Attendance was filed in May 2012, although we had already locked in an effective date of October 2011 by filing an informal claim (now known as an Intent to File). Among the veteran’s assets was a commercial property that was co-owned with four other non-related individuals. In the claim, we stated to the VA that this property should not be considered a countable asset to the veteran because it was not readily or easily convertible into cash, as it had several co-owners and had been for sale for over four years with no interest. Shortly afterwards – in VA terms, three months later – the VA requested further information regarding investments, income and expenses, to which the firm replied within the 30 days stipulated. The claim was denied less than two weeks later for failure to provide information requested. That was September 24, 2012 – four months and 17 days after the submission of the fully developed claim. Though slow to approve, the VA is quick to deny.
After this, correspondence between the firm and the VA continued back and forth for over three years. The VA continued to insist that just because the commercial property had not sold did not mean it could be deemed to have a $0 value. We continued to argue that pursuant to federal regulations (38 CFR §3.275 (d)), a factor to be considered when determining net worth is whether an asset can be readily converted into cash at no substantial sacrifice. Thus, in this case, the property had been listed on the market for over four years with no signs of interested buyers and was owned by five different individuals. Even if the veteran wanted to dispose of his proportionate share, he had to have the agreement of the four other owners. Effectively, the veteran did not have access to the value of this property in order to consume it for his living and care expenses. During this period, we had to enlist the assistance of Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson twice (2013 and 2014) to elicit information from the VA, and we appealed and appealed – filing two separate Notices of Disagreement – to which the VA responded by issuing two further denials in 2013 and 2014.
Finally, a VA form 9 Appeal to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (an administrative appellate level within the VA) was filed in September 2014. At this stage, processing takes much longer – usually three to four years – before you can expect a hearing to be scheduled; thus, we prepared for a long wait. By October 2015, it was clear that our veteran could not wait that long. His health continued to decline, his medical expenses had increased, and since it was now three years, five months, and 27 days since the formal claim was filed, we filed a motion for advancement of the case on the docket in order to expedite the appeal based on his advanced age, serious illnesses and financial hardship. Before drafting this request, we reviewed the case one more time and made some calculations based on the veteran’s net worth in 2011, including his one-fifth share of the commercial property that the VA was so insistent on counting as part of his net worth. We ran what is called a net worth calculation with age analysis and found that the veteran, despite having net worth of over $158,000 in 2011 with the inclusion of the commercial property, still did not have sufficient net worth given his assets, medical expenses and life expectancy. These calculations and conclusions, along with our request to expedite, were received by the Board of Veterans Appeals on November 3, 2015. The board overturned the denial and awarded full benefits. The VA letter awarding the maximum monthly pension benefit retroactive to October 2011 was dated February 2, 2016 – a full three years, eight months and 26 days after submission of the fully developed claim.
The good news is that the veteran, who, started receiving the maximum monthly benefit in March 2016 and is expecting a lump sum deposit of over $90,000. The bad news is that, because of the veteran’s diagnosis of dementia, the VA proposed a finding of incompetency and is not going to release the $90,000 until a fiduciary has been appointed to manage his VA benefit. If the veteran dies before receiving this lump sum, chances are that most of the $90,000 benefit will not be paid to his estate.
There is no one in the family, such as a surviving spouse or a disabled child, who can assume the claim, and the only other means of claiming accrued benefits would be if someone personally paid expenses related to the veteran’s last illness and burial. Furthermore, that someone would have to spend at least the amount owed ($90,000+) in such expenses to recoup the full amount due to the veteran. Not only is it unlikely that the veteran will have more than $90,000 in last illness and burial expenses, but even if the expenses were generated, the family could not afford to pay these. The family would have to be satisfied with reimbursement of these expenses, but nothing more.
Meanwhile, we will continue to consider this VA case as a victory; however only time will tell if the benefit that the veteran waited almost four years to be awarded will ultimately be paid out.
By Sabrina A. Scott, Senior Paralegal, The Elder & Disability Law Firm of Victoria L. Collier, PC and Director of VA Services for Lawyers With Purpose.
Victoria L. Collier, Veteran of the United States Air Force, 1989-1995 and United States Army Reserves, 2001-2004. Victoria is a Certified Elder Law Attorney through the National Elder Law Foundation; Author of “47 Secret Veterans Benefits for Seniors”; Author of “Paying for Long Term Care: Financial Help for Wartime Veterans: The VA Aid & Attendance Benefit”; Founder and CEO of The Elder & Disability Law Firm of Victoria L. Collier, PC; Co-Founder of Lawyers with Purpose; and Co-Founder of Veterans Advocate Group of America.
Update on Implementation of Proposed Regulations
In response to an inquiry from Karen B. McIntyre of Veterans Information Services, Inc. regarding the proposed VA rulemaking AO73, Net Worth, Asset Transfers, and Income Exclusions, the following email was issued to extend – yet again – the date for possible publication of the final rule to April 2017. Victoria Collier has received confirmation that the proposed rule has not yet made it to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which will need to have its own review of the proposed regulations before they can become final.
In a message dated 10/6/2016, martha.schimpf@va.gov writes:
RE: VA rulemaking AO73, Net Worth, Asset Transfers, and Income Exclusions
Ms. McIntyre,
The rulemaking is not yet final.
Due to the complexity of the rule and the large number of comments received, we do not anticipate publication of the final rule before April 2017.
The draft final rule contains several changes as a result of some of the comments we received. However, because it is still a draft and VA has not finally approved the changes, I can't share with you what those changes are.
My thanks to Marc MacKenzie for making me aware of this email.
Miscellaneous News From the VA’s Office of General Counsel
I attended a VA Accreditation CLE on October 13th at the State Bar of Georgia that included a speech by Christa Shriber, Deputy Chief Counsel of the VA’s Office of General Counsel (OGC). She provided some valuable information that benefits VA-accredited attorneys.
Ms. Shriber confirmed that when accredited attorneys charge fees for assistance with an appeal of a VA decision, there are two ways that fee agreements are to be submitted to the VA for consideration. For cases in which the VA is to directly pay the accredited attorney from the benefits owed to the claimant, the accredited attorney should file the fee agreement at a VA Regional Office specifically to the attention of the Agent and Attorney Fee Coordinator. Addresses for regional offices can be found on the VA website at http://www.va.gov/directory/guide/division.asp. You will also need to complete and submit form SF 3881, "ACH Vendor/Miscellaneous Payment Enrollment Form," to the fee coordinator for processing payment. In contrast, those cases in which the claimant pays the accredited attorney directly once the appeal is successful require the accredited attorney to file the fee agreement with the Office of General Counsel at 810 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, 20420.
There is a special phone number for VA accredited attorneys to contact the VA for updates regarding claim status: (855) 225-0709. You may require your VA POA number, which would have been provided in your initial accreditation letter or can be found using the accreditation search tool at the VA webpage: http://www.va.gov/ogc/apps/accreditation/index.asp.
Finally, for those accredited attorneys out there who are overdue to submit their VA CLE/Certification of Good Standing, whether for initial accreditation or recertification, I recommend that you submit this ASAP. Ms. Shriber mentioned that the OGC was behind in reviewing current CLE and recertification status for VA accreditation, but that they were about to start reviewing the status of all currently listed accredited attorneys. Any accredited attorney who has not submitted their CLE or Annual Certification of Good Standing would receive a suspension letter. Thus, she recommended that anyone who might be behind should submit these right away to avoid suspension. If you're an LWP member, you can log into the members section of the website: webpage http://www.lwpmembers.com/posts/how-to-become-va-accredited for further information regarding VA accreditation. Remember that after initial VA accreditation, attorneys must submit the Annual VA Certification of Good Standing every year affirming that you are an attorney in good standing, and every two years must complete a three-hour CLE pertaining to VA and submit a Biennial CLE Report.
If you would like to learn more about becoming a Lawyers With Purpose member click here to download our Membership Brochure – it will tell you everything you get and all the benefits of joining.
By Sabrina A. Scott, Paralegal, The Elder & Disability Law Firm of Victoria L. Collier, PC and Director of VA Services for Lawyers with Purpose.
Victoria L. Collier, Veteran of the United States Air Force, 1989-1995 and United States Army Reserves, 2001-2004. Victoria is a Certified Elder Law Attorney through the National Elder Law Foundation; Author of “47 Secret Veterans Benefits for Seniors”; Author of “Paying for Long Term Care: Financial Help for Wartime Veterans: The VA Aid & Attendance Benefit”; Founder of The Elder & Disability Law Firm of Victoria L. Collier, PC; Co-Founder of Lawyers with Purpose; and Co-Founder of Veterans Advocate Group of America.
It’s Not All About the Money: Determining “Non-Financial” VA Eligibility
When planning for a VA client, practitioners often spend the bulk of their time considering the claimant’s eligibility in terms of their net worth and income. And these are very important things to consider for VA non-service-connected disability pensions, particularly because the bulk of your clients are probably not initially financially eligible. Before you dive headlong into the numbers, though, remember that there are other requirements for eligibility that have nothing to do with money or finances.
In order to determine whether a veteran is entitled to a non-service-connected disability pension, you must consider his or her military service in terms of the wartime period, the minimum active-duty service requirement and the character of the military discharge. The requirements in these three areas in a nutshell are listed below.
The veteran must have:
- Served at least ONE DAY during a wartime period;
- Served 90 days on active duty (not training);
- Received a discharge other than dishonorable.
Wartime periods are defined by Congress, and most of the veterans you encounter will probably have served during World War II, or the Korean or Vietnam wartime periods.
World War II – December 7, 1941 thru December 31, 1946
Korean Conflict – June 27, 1950 thru January 31, 1955
Vietnam Era – February 28, 1961 thru May 7, 1975 (if in the Republic of Vietnam) August 5, 1964 thru May 7, 1975 (if serving anywhere)
The minimum active-duty service requirement is that the veteran must have served 90 days on active duty. What does active duty mean? It is defined in 38 U.S. Code §101(21) as full-time duty in the Armed Forces; as a commissioned officer of the Regular or Reserve Corps of the Public Health Service; as a commissioned officer of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; service as a military cadet; and authorized travel to or from such duty or service. The Armed Forces includes the five branches: Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard, as well as the Reserve in these branches. There are other categories of military service that I have not included here because they are not conventional and thus not as commonly encountered. For example, certain service in the military of the Philippines, the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps and the American Merchant Marine during WWII qualifies, as well as the work by certain civilians on Wake Island during the same period. Active duty does not mean any service related to training, such as active duty training or inactive duty training, neither one of which entitles a veteran to non-service-connected disability pension, no matter how much time is served.
Although there is a minimum active-duty service requirement that the veteran must have served 90 days on active duty, there is no minimum length of service required beyond that for veterans with active service prior to September 8, 1980. Therefore, for most of your clients who are veterans of earlier wartime periods, this will not be an issue as long as they served at least those 90 days. For those veterans with active service after September 8, 1980, the minimum service requirement for benefits such as health care and non-service-connected disability pension (with some exceptions) is 24 months or the full period for which a person was called or ordered to active duty, whichever is shorter.
The requirement for the character of the military discharge is that the veteran received a discharge other than dishonorable. The VA will consider a discharge as “under conditions other than dishonorable” if there are no statutory or regulatory bars to VA benefits in that particular circumstance. Statutory bars include when someone is discharged or released as a conscientious objector, because of a general court-martial, as a deserter, or as a result of an absence without official leave (AWOL) for a continuous period of at least 180 days. For example, if it is found that the person was insane at the time of committing the offense that caused such a discharge or release, then the discharge would not be considered a statutory bar. Another exception is for AWOL cases: If there are compelling circumstances to justify the absence without official leave, this may not constitute a statutory bar to benefits.
Regulatory bars include a discharge or release because of criminal offenses such as mutiny, treason, espionage or sabotage, but also for offenses involving moral turpitude, willful and persistent misconduct, or for homosexual acts involving aggravating circumstances or other factors affecting the performance of duty. It should be noted that the VA has proposed revising the last regulatory bar to change “homosexual acts” to “sexual acts.” Again, these regulatory bars may not apply if insanity can be shown to have been a factor when the offense was committed.
Things can become complicated when a veteran has multiple periods of active duty service and the character of the discharges varies. In general, if a veteran has a discharge that is other than dishonorable for a particular period of service, he/she might still be entitled to benefits on the basis of that term of service despite any later disqualifying discharges for subsequent service periods. However, serious offenses may forever bar a veteran from entitlement to VA benefits regardless of any honorable discharges for prior service periods.
For all the specifics regarding wartime periods, active duty service requirements and military discharge, go right to the source at 38 United States Code Part I – GENERAL PROVISIONS §§101 – 109 and 38 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §§3.1 – 3.17, 3.40 – 3.41, 3.50 – 3.60.
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By Sabrina A. Scott, Paralegal, The Elder & Disability Law Firm of Victoria L. Collier, PC and Director of VA Services for Lawyers with Purpose.
Victoria L. Collier, Veteran of the United States Air Force, 1989-1995 and United States Army Reserves, 2001-2004. Victoria is a Certified Elder Law Attorney through the National Elder Law Foundation; Author of “47 Secret Veterans Benefits for Seniors”; Author of “Paying for Long Term Care: Financial Help for Wartime Veterans: The VA Aid & Attendance Benefit”; Founder of The Elder & Disability Law Firm of Victoria L. Collier, PC; Co-Founder of Lawyers with Purpose; and Co-Founder of Veterans Advocate Group of America.
You Bet Your VA Life Insurance!
Among the benefits that veterans may access through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is life insurance. Considering the often-hazardous duty that veterans have encountered and survived, the VA’s life insurance programs are meant to offer a measure of financial security to the family for little or no cost. And proceeds from a life insurance policy on a veteran, no matter whether a VA policy or not, are not considered income by the VA, which can be a valuable benefit for a surviving spouse.
The various VA life insurance programs are listed below with the ubiquitous corresponding VA acronym.
- Service members’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI)
- Service members’ Group Life Insurance Traumatic Injury Protection (TSGLI)
- Family Service members' Group Life Insurance (FSGLI)
- Service members’ Group Life Insurance Disability Extension (SGLI-DE)
- Service-Disabled Veterans’ Insurance (S-DVI)
- Veterans’ Group Life Insurance (VGLI)
- Veterans’ Mortgage Life Insurance (VMLI)
As the names suggest, not all of these life insurance programs are meant for veterans. The only ones that are available to veterans are the last three. The first four programs are applicable to active service members or their dependents. Specifically, Service members' Group Life Insurance is term life insurance coverage for eligible service members that extends until 120 days after separation from service. Coverage under SGLI is $3.50/month for increments of $50,000 up to a maximum death benefit of $400,000 at a maximum monthly premium of $28.
Apart from basic SGLI, there are three versions of SGLI for specific circumstances. For an additional $1 premium per month, Service members'’ Group Life Insurance Traumatic Injury Protection (TSGLI) provides for a benefit paid in life if the service member suffers a loss due to traumatic injury like amputation, blindness, and paraplegia. There is also SGLI for dependents called Family Service members' Group Life Insurance (FSGLI). And the Service members' Group Life Insurance Disability Extension (SGLI-DE) is an extension of coverage for up to two years if the service member is totally disabled at separation.
After eligible active service, only veterans, and not their dependents, have VA life insurance options: the Service-Disabled Veterans’ Insurance (S-DVI), Veterans’ Group Life Insurance (VGLI), and the Veterans’ Mortgage Life Insurance (VMLI). Veterans who receive a new service-connected disability rating have two years to apply for Service-Disabled Veterans’ Insurance (S-DVI). A “new” service-connected disability rating does not include an increase of a previously held rating, nor a rating of Individual Unemployability, which is a special rating under which the VA can pay 100% of full disability compensation to someone whose service-connected disabilities are not rated at that level. Basic coverage under S-DVI, which offers both term and permanent type plans, starts at $10,000, and supplemental coverage can be purchased up to $30,000. If the new service-connected disability began before the age of 65 and lasted six consecutive months, the premiums for the first $10,000 in S-DVI coverage are waived.
For any service member who was covered by a SGLI policy during active duty and does not want to lose that coverage beyond the given 120 days after separation, there is the option of converting SGLI to a Veterans’ Group Life Insurance (VGLI) policy or even to a commercial policy. VGLI is a term life insurance product that provides lifetime coverage as long as the premiums are paid. Coverage can be the same amount as the original SGLI policy or can be reduced by increments of $10,000. Once enrolled, you can increase coverage by $25,000 every five years up to a maximum coverage of $400,000
The final insurance program available to veterans is Veterans’ Mortgage Life Insurance (VMLI), which is specifically for severely disabled veterans who have received a VA Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) grant to help build, remodel, or purchase a home, have the title to the home, and have a mortgage on the home. There is also an application deadline of age 70. A VMLI policy provides coverage equal to the amount of the mortgage still owed, up to $200,000, and is payable only to the mortgage holder. It is a decreasing term life insurance that reduces as the mortgage balance declines.
There is a convenient tool called Overview of VA Insurance Benefits created by the VA that allows you to pick the insurance program and then get further guidance on specific program eligibility. If a service member is qualified for SGLI, he or she, along with their non-service-member spouse, is automatically enrolled. To qualify, the applicant has to be an active-duty member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, or Coast Guard; a commissioned member of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or the U.S. Public Health Service; a cadet or midshipman of the U.S. military academies or the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) engaged in authorized training and practice cruises; or certain reserve members.
Veterans, on the other hand, must complete applications for VA life insurance products. Complete and file form VA Form 29-4364 for Service-Disabled Veterans’ Insurance (S-DVI) or apply online at https://www.insurance.va.gov/portal/. Veterans’ Group Life Insurance (VGLI) requires completion of VA form SGLV 8714 or an online application at the Prudential website: https://giosgli.prudential.com/osgli/web/OSGLIMenu.html. Finally, one can only apply for Veterans’ Mortgage Life Insurance (VMLI) by completing VA form 29-8636.
If you would like to learn more about becoming a Lawyers With Purpose member consider joining us in the room the week of October 24th – October 28th in Houston for The Law Profit Summit and the Tri-Annual Practice Enhancement Retreat. We promise it WILL change your practice!
By Sabrina A. Scott, Paralegal, The Elder & Disability Law Firm of Victoria L. Collier, PC, and Director of VA Services for Lawyers with Purpose.
Victoria L. Collier, Veteran of the United States Air Force, 1989-1995 and United States Army Reserves, 2001-2004. Victoria is a Certified Elder Law Attorney through the National Elder Law Foundation, Author of “47 Secret Veterans Benefits for Seniors”; Author of “Paying for Long Term Care: Financial Help for Wartime Veterans: The VA Aid & Attendance Benefit”; Founder of The Elder & Disability Law Firm of Victoria L. Collier, PC; Co-Founder of Lawyers with Purpose; and Co-Founder of Veterans Advocate Group of America.
Latest Release of LWP-CCS Software
The latest version of the Lawyers with Purpose Client-Centered Software (LWP-CCS) was recently released and can be downloaded by using the link emailed to all qualifying members. Instructions on how to install the update are included. Please contact Member Services if you have not received an email. Updates were made to the Medicaid and VA modules and the LWP-CCS forms; the changes are summarized below.
Medicaid Qualification
Statutory wartime dates for VA eligibility have been added to the MedQual Worksheet as a reference aid. Further changes were made to the Asset Risk Analysis to show the rate of loss to a nursing home when in a "crisis" situation. You may also notice that the termination language in the Personal Services Agreement has been simplified per member feedback.
We also updated and simplified the language of the Termination section in the Personal Services Agreement.
LWP-CCS Forms
There have been some state-specific changes to the form documents at the request of our state bar members.
We also updated the Illinois Health Care Power of Attorney.
VA Qualification and Application
As another quarter is coming to a close for 2016 without us hearing a peep regarding the proposed VA look-back period, changes to the VA module were minimal with this release. As done for the MedQual worksheet, wartime dates for VA eligibility were added to the VA HotDocs Interviews for convenient reference.
The most important update was the new version of the main application form for filing for veterans improved pension; namely the VA form 21-527EZ Application For Pension is now the 21P-527EZ. Although this is an important update due to the significance of this form and the need to use VA-prescribed forms, the actual changes were negligible, consisting only of the addition of the letter P to the form number and a new revision date of April 2016. Another VA form that was updated is the 24-0296 Direct Deposit Enrollment, which you may use to enroll in direct deposit of VA payments into a bank account.
Another change was made at a member’s suggestion regarding the healthcare provider statement that is generated either through the VA Intent to File Interview or the VA Formal Claim Interview to document certain medical expenses. This document was generating by default with the veteran’s name in the field, “The following services are provided to: _________.” This latest release has removed this default so that this field now remains blank and this form can be used for the veteran and/or the spouse as needed.
This last change illustrates how Lawyers with Purpose benefits from you, our community of members, in improving and developing our software. We are always open to any ideas that allow us to provide you with the most current, useful, and efficient tools for your firm. Always let us know how we can be better!
If you're a Lawyers With Purpose member and use Actionstep, the corresponding software release and separate instruction file is available for download now in the Software section of the members’ Lawyers with Purpose website at http://www.lwpmembers.com/posts/lwp-actionstep-hotdocs-integration. The changes in the Actionstep release are identical to those listed above.
If you want to learn more about our drafting software click here to schedule a live demo.
By Sabrina A. Scott, Paralegal, The Elder & Disability Law Firm of Victoria L. Collier, PC and Director of VA Services for Lawyers with Purpose.
Victoria L. Collier, Veteran of the United States Air Force, 1989-1995 and United States Army Reserves, 2001-2004. Victoria is a Certified Elder Law Attorney through the National Elder Law Foundation; Author of “47 Secret Veterans Benefits for Seniors”; Author of “Paying for Long Term Care: Financial Help for Wartime Veterans: The VA Aid & Attendance Benefit”; Founder of The Elder & Disability Law Firm of Victoria L. Collier, PC; Co-Founder of Lawyers with Purpose; and Co-Founder of Veterans Advocate Group of America.
