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Serving South Florida
since 1982
Board Certified Elder Law
Attorney
By the Florida Bar and
National Elder Law Foundation
Florida Bar
celebrates it's 25th Anniversary.
Click here to read why this certification matters to you.
West
Broward
Fort
Lauderdale area
(954) 726-6602
Boynton
- Delray
(561) 496-0077
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Please call us for a free elder law report. |
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Veterans
Benefits for the Elderly
Non-service Connected Benefits
'AID AND ATTENDANCE' is available to a
veteran who requires the aid and attendance of another person in
order to avoid the hazards of his/her daily environment.
Under this benefit, a
veteran can receive a maximum of $1744 per month in benefits,
and a widow/er can receive up to $945 per month.
Requirements
1. SERVICE REQUIREMENTS:
In general, to qualify, a veteran must have 90 days or more
of active duty under other than dishonorable conditions, one day of
which was during wartime.
2. DISABILITY REQUIREMENTS:
The veteran must be determined to be 'permanently and
totally disabled'.
a)
The VA will generally accept a letter from the person's
personal doctor as to the veteran's disability. The
letter should state that the person has an incapacity which
requires care or assistance on a regular basis to protect the
claimant from the hazards or dangers incident to his daily
environment. The
veteran does not need to be helpless - he/she need only show that
he/she is in need of aid and attendance of another person on a regular basis.
b) A patient in an assisted living facility is presumed to be
in need of Aid and Attendance.
3. NET WORTH REQUIREMENTS:
The VA will consider the net worth of the applicant and
will deny the application if the net worth is such that part of it
could be consumed for the applicant's care.
As
a rule of thumb, the cutoff is $80,000.
The home is not counted.
In other words, the VA will rarely deny a claim if the net
worth is below this number.
There is no penalty
period for transfer of assets.
The application simply asks for the net worth of the
applicant on the date of the application and does not inquire as to
previous transfers.
4. INCOME REQUIREMENTS: The general rule is that even if
the applicant fulfills all of the above requirements, the
application will be denied if the veteran's countable income
exceeds the maximum annual pension rate, which is currently,
$1,675.00.
***However, in computing
the income of the applicant, certain items can be deducted from
income. Specifically, unreimbursed
medical expenses paid by a veteran may be used to reduce the
veteran's income.
UNREIMBURSED MEDICAL
EXPENSES: Doctor's
fees, dentist, glasses, Medicare deductions, co-payments,
prescriptions, transportation to doctors, therapy, health insurance,
and funeral expenses. Also
included in unreimbursed medical expenses are the costs of an Assisted
Living Facility
or in-home aid. Obviously,
these can make up a big portion of the unreimbursed medical
expenses.
We can assist with the
application process as well as securing home health services or
placement in an assisted living facility.
It takes approximately 4-6 months to be approved but is
retroactive from the first of the month after the month applied for.
We have many clients
who are taking advantage of this benefit.
Please feel free to contact us if we can further guide you. |
Florida
Elder Law, Estate Planning &
