My dad will soon be moving from independent living to either assisted living or skilled nursing/ nursing home but has so many health issues that I think it will be the latter. He is a veteran and we’ve encouraged him for a couple of years to apply for his pension so that aid and assistance would be easier if we needed to go that route, but he did not.
I’m realizing now that his nest egg that he had created won’t last long and that soon his cost of care will exceed his retirement plus social security.
Military veteran pension was denied based on him being just over the asset limit. What is the best course of action to appeal this knowing that he will be within the asset limit soon when we have to start paying a lot more in living expenses.
I know they have the new look back rule and worry about things like him paying me back during Covid when I started having a laundry service and sitters come help him out and I was doing all of his shopping for him. He doesn’t do online things so I paid and he was just paying me back. It certainly wasn’t gifting his assets though.
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If your Dad served even one day during a War period, he will qualify for VA Aid and Attendance. You have to be below the government approved assets which I think is around $130,000.
A Elder Care Lawyer can help you put his house if he has one into a Lady Bird Deed, which keeps Nursing Homes or the State coming after the homestead.
A trust might help with other assets. However, the government considers all monthly income. If your Dad gets Social Security plus some type of Pension monthly payments, he will probably not qualify.
If he served during an actual War, I would consider finding a Certified Lawyer or Representative to help with the filings. Legally, they can't charge for helping with filing but they can charge for ways to get through the system. Patriot Angels is one of these VA Aid and Attendance reps. On the VA website, you can look up by State and zip code, Representatives around you. I told my sister to use Patriot Angels to help file for her as a Spouse of Vet. They are helping her with all paperwork. Once, they establish you are in a residence like Assisted Living etc., usually 3 months, you can start getting assistance. It's worth the upfront money with The Lady Bird Deed, Trust and or VA Representation costs to help you navigate through it all.
Good Luck!
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Bring in any paperwork you have (DD214, any medical records if any from the service and if your dad wrote letters to your mom while he was in the service that might help) Depending on where and when he served he might be eligible for more than just the Aid and Attendance. Several of the conditions he has could be related to chemical exposure and that would give him what is called a "Service Connected Disability"
There are people that will charge to file an appeal but please start with the Veterans Assistance Commission, their services are free and their goal is to help Veterans get the service, care and benefits they deserve.
The Aid & Attendance benefit is a monthly flat dollar benefit. Where the Medicaid long-term care benefit is comprehensive and pays for necessary services that the beneficiary cannot pay for themself. You should consider getting professional advice on both so you have a comprehensive plan. I agree with Garden Artist that you should check with the VFW or the American Legion first. They may have trained volunteers. For the Medicaid portion you would need to seek an attorney. It's counter intuitive, but the Special Needs Alliance is a good resource. The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys search tool can be refined by "practice area", one of which is "Veterans Benefits" and another is "Medicaid Planning".
His current issue is being over the asset limit. So an appeal right now would not change the eligibility rules. Start paying and spending down his money and then reapply. Keep receipts for every cent you spend of his money for his care so you don't have any issues when you reapply. And do NOT move any of his money without having a receipt to back up what the money was used for. It will just create more problems...and so many people try to do that.
You can appeal. Dad is now going into an Assisted living so his assets will be going down fast. If Dad reimburses you, you should have receipts showing that. I was Moms POA and on her bank account. Once a month when I paid her bills, I reimbursed myself for any out of pocket. I kept all the receipts for the month in an envelope with the check number written on it. I don't do spreadsheets but you could.
As your father is covered by insurance, receiving a civilian retirement, plus social security, he should be fine. If the time comes to place him in a care center, if he has residential property or other tangible assets, that can be sold and put in a trust strictly for his health care costs. You may check on VA sponsored care centers, but like the medical clinics, fully retired veterans get priority. Have you considered live in care for him? I wish you the best in the unknown future, you are smart and loving to try and prepare for your dad's care. Fortunately, with his assets you have some choices.
My suggestion about getting paid back for services for a loved one --- keep receipts and make a journal. Without that, it can be difficult to prove that amounts were not "gifted". Best of luck to you and your Dad.
I haven't dealt intensively with the VA (as noted elsewhere, I gave up after the first attempt) and have not dealt with Medicaid, but my understanding is they won't focus so much on nickels and dimes, just obvious larger amounts of cash/payments unaccounted for.
Best to have ALL payments accounted for, that way they will know that you are above board for all of it!
Did your father suffer from any mental or physical problems after his time of service? If so, he may be entitled to a disability pension as well as retirement benefits. The disability pension is tax free, but it does require a medical record review for the time your dad served. VA should be able to guide you with this as well.
The VA does have residential facilities in every state. Your dad may qualify for placement in one of them.
I know this because SS didn't care (had to go rep payee with them - POA isn't honored) and mom's pension is federal. SS was easy to get done (not so getting the special account set up for it, but that was a bank issue/lack of knowledge.) Pension was much harder as they have VERY specific requirements before they will approve it. The good news with them is once they did approve it, I was able to have her direct deposits continue to her regular account! So far they have not requested any accounting from me (SS does every year, but it isn't hard and can be done online. sadly this last year they sent a letter questioning why all was used for residence/food - really? 1139/m and you think I should be spending this on things she wants, vacations, etc? A 96 yo woman with dementia who no longer stands/walks, and has virtually no hearing? I purposely keep pension and SS going to the monthly MC fee, which is less than 1/2 the total, and the funds coming from a trust cover the rest plus anything she needs. Makes accounting easier for me! The only ones I would have to answer to is my brothers and they never ask. Even the IRS has their own form. I have an Enrolled Agent do the taxes for her and the trust, and he has me sign it with DPOA even though they don't "recognize" it.
Stupidly the forms that these "entities" use are rather useless. It requires the principal signing it, and we all know that someone with dementia isn't really qualified to sign documents, hence why WE have POAs!!!
AL helped us; I also got excellent advice from a VFW rep.
Some states also have offices; I got some good advice from a Veteran working for the Michigan Veterans' department.
Don't hire one of the outfits that purports to help Vets qualify; you can get better support for free, and if I remember correctly, it's illegal to charge for that advice. Some companies bundle asset management with "advice" and get around the law.
If you can get help from the VA, VFW or EC attorney, you should be able to resubmit. Keep in mind too that, if needed, Medicaid might be another option, once his assets are nearly drained. It might be good to compare what each would provide and go with the one that might be higher. You cannot have both, so get the most 'bang' for your buck (and efforts!)