Is the company American Veterans Aid a reputable company?
My sister and I are looking into it as a way to get help with my elderly mother and father, who is a veteran. They charge a fee to help with paperwork and legal advice for the Aid and Attendance Benevit throught the VA.
I was told by an attorney I knew that legally such companies cannot charge a fee.
When I asked why they did, he hemmed and hawed but eventually hinted that they attempt to offer the veteran, or actually reallocate disposition, of his/her assets. I.e., they try to sell you investments. That's the hook of these so-called offers - they try to assume asset management. I suspect they find some way to take commissions from the reallocation of assets.
We went through the Veterans Affairs office of the county, which merely completed the paperwork and forwarded it to the American Legion, which handled the process for free.
I was also told by one of the local VA medical center staff that there are VFW and AL help desks within that VA, and that we could simply stop by and ask for assistance on qualification issues that arose, which we will do, as some issues have developed.
But don't pay people who want money to do this. In fact, take a look at the information the BBB has on this company (despite its "high rating"):
Check the number of employees listed, and be sure to check out the "Busienss Category" and "Industry Tips". It's a pretty good guess what they'll try to sell you.
I agree with Pam...there is no reason to pay for this at all. I printed out the paperwork online, and filled it out for my mother. There were some papers that needed to be signed by her medical doctor..but it is all self explanatory. It took a few months to get everything approved, but we did it and the money is deposited into her checking account. They also pay retroactively from the time you applied.
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When I asked why they did, he hemmed and hawed but eventually hinted that they attempt to offer the veteran, or actually reallocate disposition, of his/her assets. I.e., they try to sell you investments. That's the hook of these so-called offers - they try to assume asset management. I suspect they find some way to take commissions from the reallocation of assets.
We went through the Veterans Affairs office of the county, which merely completed the paperwork and forwarded it to the American Legion, which handled the process for free.
I was also told by one of the local VA medical center staff that there are VFW and AL help desks within that VA, and that we could simply stop by and ask for assistance on qualification issues that arose, which we will do, as some issues have developed.
But don't pay people who want money to do this. In fact, take a look at the information the BBB has on this company (despite its "high rating"):
Check the number of employees listed, and be sure to check out the "Busienss Category" and "Industry Tips". It's a pretty good guess what they'll try to sell you.