DO YOU QUALIFY FOR AID & ATTENDANCE?
Aid & Attendance is a special pension that offers veterans and their surviving spouses additional funding/assistance for another person to help with eating, dressing, bathing and other daily maintenance matters. Not all veterans will qualify for this special pension; therefore, if you are looking to apply it is best to meet with an estate planning attorney who has experience with the Aid & Attendance Pension (and accredited by the VA) to ensure you meet all requirements. Some of these requirements will include:
Medical Needs - The veteran or the widow of a wartime veteran must require assistance by another person for daily maintenance items such as eating or dressing. A person does not need all levels of care, but they must have a written physician statement saying they need assistance with at least some of the daily items a person does in order to maintain.
DD-214 - Anyone who has served in the military and then separated will have a DD-214 form. This is required in order to apply to any Veteran or government assistance programs for veterans. The DD214 must indicate that the veteran had served at least 90 consecutive days in active duty and at least one day was in a specified conflict or war period, wuch as WWII, Korean, or Vietnam.
Age - In order to qualify you or your spouse will need to be over the age of 65. Otherwise, you need to have a disability determination by the Social Security or the VA.
Income - There are income limitations set by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Make sure your maximum income does not go over the minimum requirement amount. However, this requirement can be planned by an accreidted attorney and it is easier to qualify than one might think.
Assets - Assets can be planned so that one can qualify.
Contact a local VA-accredited attorney to get more information on this important veterans pension.