Veterans Benefits

Often, senior wartime veterans or their surviving spouses can no longer live on their own in their home anymore, but they do not yet need the level of care provided in an assisted living facility or nursing home.  Independent living facilities for seniors are a great option in these situations . . .

It appears that wartime veterans and their surviving spouses who are receiving the United States Department of Veterans Affairs Aid and Attendance pension will receive a cost of living adjustment in their pension rate in 2013.  While the official numbers have not been released yet, the 2013 pension rates should be close to the following:

• $1,732 per month for a single veteran
• $2,054 per month for a married veteran
• $1,113 per month for the surviving spouse of a wartime veteran

While that is good news for people currently receiving this benefit, storm clouds loom on the horizon in terms of changes to law that would affect people applying for the benefit in the future.  A look-back period is being considered and the VA and Congress is also considering restricting the program to make it a poverty-level program.  If a senior citizen who is a veteran or their surviving spouse could qualify for Aid and Attendance, it would be wise to have one’s long-term care planning done sooner rather than later so an application can be submitted under the current laws and regulations.

Lawyer Andrew Byers advises older veterans and their families on Aid and Attendance as part of his elder law practice.

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Aid and Attendance program can be an excellent option for older wartime veterans and their widows. Among other requirements, there are four tests to qualify for Aid and Attendance, including military service, medical status, asset level, income level, and then documentation and proof of these requirements. The topic of this post will be the income requirement.

The VA Aid and Attendance benefit is one of the best options for older wartime veterans or their widows who need elder care assistance.

Long term care is expensive, and the receipt of these veterans services can help avoid the high costs of nursing home care, assisted living, or home care in depleting an older person’s assets.  That’s important because, once an older person is out of money, their only care option is to apply for Medicaid. 

There is good news for older veterans and their surviving spouses who rely upon Aid and Attendance to pay for their home care, assisted living, and nursing home costs.  The amounts veterans and their surviving spouses receive in Aid and Attendance will increase in January 2012.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has indicated that single veterans receiving Aid and Attendance will receive $1,703.00 per month.  Married veterans receiving Aid and Attendance will receive $2,019.00 per month.  Surviving spouses of veterans receiving Aid and Attendance will receive $1,094.00 per month.

These are the first increases in the VA’s Aid and Attendance program since 2008.

Many people use the terms Alzheimer's disease and dementia interchangeably, but they have very different meanings. Although dementia is a group of symptoms that include memory loss, the term itself doesn't explain what is causing the symptoms. Alzheimer's disease is the leading cause of dementia, but here are many other causes.

Dementia is a general term for memory loss that is severe enough to interfere with daily life. The signs of dementia may include forgetfulness, difficulty making plans, thinking ahead, or using language, as well as changing character traits, among other symptoms. Alzheimer's disease accounts for 50 to 80 percent of dementia cases according to the Alzheimer's Association, but there are other causes, including vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, frontotemporal dementia, and Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.

Alzheimer's disease is a partially hereditary disease that causes a loss of brain cells. The symptoms start out mild but grow progressively worse over time. There is no cure, but there are medications that can treat the symptoms and slow the disease's progress. An early symptom of Alzheimer's is difficulty learning new information. It can then progress to more severe symptoms such as forgetting names and places, disorientation, mood and behavior changes, and an inability to relate to others. Eventually, it can lead to the inability to talk, walk, or eat.

Dementia, whether caused by Alzheimer's disease or some other underlying disease, is not a normal part of aging. If someone you know is exhibiting signs of dementia, they should get immediate medical attention to understand what is causing it.  As the dementia progresses, people often lose the ability to care for themselves and may need assistance with the activities of daily living such as eating, taking medication, bathing and getting dressed.  In many cases, it becomes unsafe for the person with dementia to be alone, resulting in the need for care at home, in an assisted living facility or nursing home.

“Aid and Attendance” is an income-tax free special monthly pension available to wartime veterans and their surviving spouses.  The monthly pension available ranges from $1,056.00 to $1,949.00.  The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (the VA) administers the program.  The receipt of these funds can help a veteran or their widow pay for long-term care without spending all of their money.  That is important, because once the older person’s money and assets are gone, their care options can be extremely limited.

One of the factors the VA considers when processing an application for Aid and Attendance is the amount of the claimant’s estate and net worth.  A “claimant” is either the veteran or their surviving spouse.  The VA’s rules define corpus of the estate and net worth to mean the market value, less mortgages or other encumbrances, of all real and personal property owned by the claimant, except the claimant’s home, including a reasonable lot area, and personal effects.  Personal property means all tangible property that is not land. 

In regards to a home, in general this means you can own a home and obtain Aid and Attendance.  However, if the home is sold, the cash proceeds received from the sale are countable and could disqualify a claimant from continuing to receive Aid and Attendance.  This can be avoided by transferring title to the home to a properly drafted irrevocable trust for VA purposes before applying for Aid and Attendance.  In regards to personal property, generally clothing and household furniture and furnishing would not be countable for Aid and Attendance qualification purposes.  However, personal property that could be considered an investment, such as a coin collection, would be countable.

In processing an application for Aid and Attendance, the VA will determine whether or not the claimant’s financial resources are sufficient to meet the claimant’s basis needs without receipt of the special monthly pension. If the VA determines that the claimant’s assets are sufficiently large that the claimant could live off the assets for a reasonable period of time, the clerk who is processing the application can deny it.  This is a subjective standard and there is no specific dollar amount that can be designated as excessive net worth.  The VA’s rules provide they are to consider the facts and circumstances in each case.  Variables to consider are the claimant’s income, expenses, life expectancy and the extent to which assets can be converted into cash to pay for the claimant’s needs.  These needs will typically include unreimbursed medical expenses, including the cost of home health care, assisted living care, or nursing home care.

As such, before applying for Aid and Attendance, it is a good idea to make sure the veteran or their surviving spouse qualifies first.  Do not apply to see what will happen, especially if you are acting as a fiduciary for an older person as their agent under a Power of Attorney or as successor trustee of their revocable living trust.  An elder law attorney who is also accredited by the VA can assist in calculating the claimant’s net worth for Aid and Attendance purposes before an application is submitted, thus increasing the chances that the application for the pension will be approved.  If a veteran who is living in an assisted living facility that costs $4,000 to $6,000 a month receives the monthly $1,644 Aid and Attendance pension, the receipt of these funds can help the veteran avoid becoming out of money, and out of options, thus enhancing their well-being by not having to move to another facility and avoiding a financial crisis in the family.

Andrew Byers is an Elder Law attorney in Auburn Hills, Michigan and is accredited by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.  Assisting veterans and their surviving spouses with long-term care planning and Aid and Attendance are part of his Elder Law practice.