Your VSO is a county office whose job it is to help guide you through the process of applying for and accessing veteran benefits available to you, whether through the VA, the state, or the county. We understand VA processes, but we are not the VA. We help bridge the gap between the Veteran and the VA, as a liaison.
It is your choice whether or not you would rather deal with an attorney when it comes to your benefits, and there are some attorneys out there who specialize in veteran appeals, but the majority do not, and unfortunately, it could, in the end, cost you time, money and progress on your claim to use an attorney who often will just write letters to the VA which does not win claims. An attorney will tell you they are better for the job because they know how to gather the evidence the VA is looking for to prove your conditions are service-related. But as a VSO, it is our MISSION to accomplish this for you. We are trained, accredited, knowledgable and qualified to successfully represent you in filing a thorough and efficient claim complete with evidence. What's more, we are REQUIRED to maintain our training and knowledge and keep up to date on the ever-changing landscape of laws and legislation supporting veteran benefits. BOTTOM LINE: We are experts at what the VA is looking for when it comes to a thorough and well-developed claim. The VA is not afraid of attorneys; often, folks think that a long-battled claim has been won because of their hiring an attorney, when really it was merely that the attorney followed the instructions and parameters of filing a claim. Many times, clarification is everything. We are fully qualified and well-versed in helping clarify and develop your claim.
All VSOs are generally qualified to file claims for you and help you gain access to benefits. But that does not guarantee a positive outcome in every case, nor does it mean that all VSOs do their job well. We do. Let us put our knowledge, training and compassion to work for you.
To revisit a point made above, sometimes a denial just means details in the request were missed/incorrect. We can help you weed through the fine print and give you your best chance at a well-developed claim. Or we can be honest with you if your claim will not hold up. In our experience, the VA often finds other conditions a veteran is eligible for and suggests they file for those. And if a veteran is eligible for two benefits, but only allowed one, the VA will always award the greater benefit. The VA wants to decide things in your favor. Let us help to give you the best shot at helping them to do that. We can bridge that gap & better ensure a positive experience and outcome!
You do not need to have served in combat to be considered a wartime service veteran. You only need to have served 1 day during a period of war as set by Congress. Review the official wartime service dates for clarification.
VA Disability Compensation is a benefit strictly for veterans. Those benefits do not pass on to the next of kin. However, there are other survivor benefits that you may potentially be eligible for. Survivors Pension and Aid & Attendance are financially-needs based benefits dependent on a pretty low financial income threshhold & specific eligibility. Dependency Indemnity Compensation (DIC) is a benefit paid to a surviving spouse IF their veteran's death was directly caused by or contributed to by one of their already service-connected disabilities (they had to have been receiving montly compensation for this disability AND it has to be listed as a cause/contributing cause of death on the death certificate).
Veterans can be enrolled in VA Healthcare and receive treatment and care, but in order to receive VA Disability Compensation and be rated with a service-connected disability, they must file a disability claim with the VA. Seeking and receiving treatment for a condition you believe to be service-connected is not the same as being rated as service- connected and considered disabled through the VA, even if you've told your doctor that it began in service, and even if your doctor makes notes that your service is connected. Until you file a claim to apply for VA service-connected disability compensation and receive a decision, you are not considered a disabled veteran for benefits purposes.
Agent Orange is a herbicide that many veterans were exposed to during their time in Vietnam or other locations certified by the Dept of Defense. This exposure has been known years later to cause a slew of health conditions and secondary conditions that wreak havoc on one's health. But Agent Orange itself is not a condition, and one may have been exposed, but unless there are health conditions resulting from that exposure, there is no disability to claim. One cannot have Agent Orange.
Dependents do not receive free healthcare from VA based on a veterans disability status. However, under certain circumstances, beneficiaries or caregivers can be eligible for CHAMPVA Healthcare, which is a healthcare benefits program where VA shares the cost of certain healthcare services and supplies with eligible beneficiaries OR the Primary Family Caregiver of veterans who are permanently & totally disabled due to service-connected disability. Recipients must NOT be eligible for TRICARE.
VA has updated their caregiver support to include a Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers. Certain eligiblity guidelines must be met in order to qualify for a stipend to be paid to an eligible caregiver. See the booklet below for more info on that program, and visit the VA's Caregiver website to learn about all the of the ways VA supports caregivers.