Articles Posted in Aid & Attendance

December 7, 2011 marks the 70th Anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The attack was a shock to our nation and led directly to our involvement in World War II. This day, describe as “a date which will live in infamy” by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, reminds us of some very important lessons.…

I would like to thank James Kelley, a University of Missouri law student, for providing us with the following post. After their service, veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces are entitled to a number of benefits. Common benefits include service-connected disability compensation, VA-provided health care, the VA Home Loan program, educational assistance, and Aid and…

Significant changes have occurred within the Department of Veteran’s Affairs that may affect your ability to receive VA benefits if you are a Vietnam era veteran that suffers from certain conditions. Certain diseases and conditions are now viewed as presumptive illnesses related to the conditions Agent Orange (a herbicide used during the Vietnam Conflict) exposure.…

If you are a veteran in Michigan and expecting a raise or increase in benefits, you may be waiting another year. VA benefits generally follow the same trend as Social Security benefits. For those of you who don’t know, Social Security benefits will have no increase for 2011. Therefore, it is probably likely that there…

Often times, as I meet with clients, I learn that a client has attempted to do their own estate planning. While Michigan law allows for holographic wills (a Will written and executed by an individual in their own handwriting) there are certain complexities that remain with estate planning in Michigan. In fact, the biggest error…

It is important to understand the interplay between the Veteran’s Administration (VA) Aid and Attendance (A&A) Benefits and state Medicaid law. Clients often come to our office in Sterling Heights after hearing about the A&A benefit through seminars organized by financial planners. Seminars in Southeast Michigan are becoming more and more common place as insurance…

Often times, I will work with families that are crisis planning. What does this mean? I define crisis planning as planning by a family that is in the process of assisting a loved one with an illness, injury, or disease. In Michigan, especially in Metro-Detroit, it is difficult to get the right information to assist…

The State of Michigan sponsored VA advocate and mediation will be defunct as of May 15, 2009. Gov. Granholm disbanded these service centers as part of the budget reduction. This means that if you have a question about VA services, benefits, etc. you must go through the Federal system of the VA to get an…

If you are interested in learning more about the topics that I have discussed on this site and live in the Howell area, I will be presenting a seminar at the Oakhaven Manor Senior facility in Howell, Michigan on Friday April 3, 2008. All are welcome to attend. For more information please feel free to…

Often times I meet with veterans that are already receiving service related benefits in the form of disability benefits. It is important to understand that often times if you are already receiving disability benefits it is not likely you will be eligible to receive improved pension benefits, notably, aid and attendance benefits. Here is an…