If you or your spouse served on active duty in the armed forces, you probably already receive a basic veteran’s and/or survivor’s pension. But did you know that you could set up added security for your long-term care?
VA Aid and Attendance benefits are an additional pension that gives eligible veterans and surviving spouses monthly funds to use for in-home care and assisted living. By reaching out to a New York veterans benefits lawyer from Amoruso & Amoruso LLP, you may learn more about options you may not know you had.
We at Amoruso & Amoruso LLP have nearly six decades of combined legal experience in elder law. Michael J. Amoruso and Sreelekha Chakrabarty Amoruso have developed keen, in-depth insight into making veterans benefits work better for you and your family. This is one of the key areas of elder law that make up our signature comprehensive estate planning service, which covers the essentials of your life planning.
Reach out to us today to learn more about veterans benefits planning.
What Are Aid and Attendance Benefits?
Aid and attendance benefits are a monthly payment added to the regular VA monthly pension benefit for qualified veterans and survivors. This additional monthly payment can help you pay for an aide to assist with your activities of daily living — eating, dressing, bathing, toileting, and transferring — and allow you or your spouse to stay in the community.
How Aid and Attendance Benefits Eligibility Works
A veteran or surviving family member must meet eligibility requirements to apply for VA aid and attendance benefits. These include the following:
- A veteran must have served in active duty, with at least one of those days occurring during a period of war.
- The veteran must have received an honorable discharge or a discharge for other than dishonorable reasons.
- Applicants must receive a monthly VA pension to apply for aid and attendance benefits. Medical requirements for eligibility for aid and attendance benefits include that the individual:
- Requires another person to help with daily activities (i.e., eating, dressing, bathing, toileting, transferring);
- Is bedridden or homebound;
- Resides in a nursing home; or
- Is blind.
- A veteran or spouse may apply for a housebound benefit if they spend most of their time at home.
Applicants must also meet income and asset limits, and, like Medicaid, there is a three-year lookback period to see if the veteran transferred assets in an attempt to qualify for aid and attendance benefits.
