If you have a good VA dept in your County you do not need a lawyer or one of those help agencies. As long as a spouse has been in the Military during wartime and ur over 65 yrs old you can apply for Aides and Attendence. My VA rep helped me fill out my paperwork. If VA Dept for your County is not lose by, check with your VFW or American Legion.
From the research I have done the veteran would had to have served during wartime (not necessarily in the actual fighting). The wife has to have discharge papers and exact, dates, names and places. I was told that the system is so difficult to navigate that the wives or families often hire a lawyer to do the paperwork, and the benefits are not very much.
There are also restrictions on being buried in a veterans cemetery. Some people think just because they were in the military that they can automatically be buried there but that isn’t the case.
I know someone who tried to bury their spouse in a veterans cemetery and he wasn’t in the military long enough to be buried there.
You’re right about benefits too. They can be complicated for some individuals to figure out on their own.
If someone is able to do it on their own and save fees, great! For others, it’s worth the extra cost to save time and effort, not to mention the stress involved in dealing with this.
The best thing to do would be to contact your local Veterans Assistance Commission and they can help determine if any benefits are due. Your State's Veterans Service Officer might be another resource. A Call to the VA might get some answers as well but in general they are very busy and you will probably have more luck getting answers from the first two resources.
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Great points!
There are also restrictions on being buried in a veterans cemetery. Some people think just because they were in the military that they can automatically be buried there but that isn’t the case.
I know someone who tried to bury their spouse in a veterans cemetery and he wasn’t in the military long enough to be buried there.
You’re right about benefits too. They can be complicated for some individuals to figure out on their own.
If someone is able to do it on their own and save fees, great! For others, it’s worth the extra cost to save time and effort, not to mention the stress involved in dealing with this.
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Your State's Veterans Service Officer might be another resource.
A Call to the VA might get some answers as well but in general they are very busy and you will probably have more luck getting answers from the first two resources.