Veterans Benefits Planning

• Wartime Pension (including Aid and Attendance) from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

Like Medicaid, there are a number of benefits programs offered through the VA, including but not limited to assistance purchasing a home or paying for higher education, financial compensation awards for veterans with service-connected disabilities, and burial benefits.  There is also an under-utilized benefit known as “Wartime Pension” (with or without Housebound or Aid and Attendance increases) – an income tax-free pension paid to wartime veterans (or their spouses or dependents) on a monthly basis to defray the costs of long-term care and delay admission to a nursing home.  Medicaid long-term care benefits and Wartime Pension have income and asset limitations, and proactive planning for future long-term care benefits can preserve assets for supplemental needs and keep individuals in their own home for as long as health and safety allow.  The application process for Wartime Pension can be lengthy and difficult, and many organizations which provide free application services cannot provide legal advice about obtaining eligibility if income and assets are outside program limits.  The attorneys in Rossway Swan’s Guardianship and Elder Law practice group are dedicated to ensuring that those who served our country receive every benefit to which they are entitled, so their safety and dignity can be preserved.