hurryupnwait

I have a letter from my doc stating that I was unable to work due to SC conditions in those years. I also have a Vocational expert opinion that says i was unable to work during that time frame. On the other hand, I would not be surprised if the VA claimed that since I was able to work as a trustee, then i was employable. How does one prepare for this?

Broncovet What are the 5 P's you mention?

I was a non-professional successor trustee to my father's trust. I did not pay self employment tax on this money. Here is "According to Rev. Rul. 58-5 Generally, nonprofessional fiduciaries (that is, for example, persons who serve as executor or administrator in isolated instances, and then as personal representative for the estate of a deceased friend or relative) will not be treated as receiving income from a trade or business unless all of the following conditions are met:(a) There is a trade or business among the assets of the estate,(b) The executor actively participates in the operation of this trade or business,(c) The fees of the executor are related to the operation of the trade or business." Would this money be considered sheltered income for TDIU purpose? I am appeallng a TDIU claim for an earlier effective date and 3 of those years were during the time I received trustee fees as a successor trustee. This is from the HillandPonton.com website "Sheltered employment involves holding a job but in a protected work environment. In this case, you’re maintaining a position where the employer makes accommodations for your disability. In other words, while you may not be able to work at another job, you’re able to keep this one due to your accommodations. These accommodations may include diminished quotes, additional time off, extra breaks, the ability to leave work at will, etc. Sheltered employment essentially is a job where you are not working under regular expectations. It may be a job where you are expected to do the most you can and whenever you are able. Generally, with a sheltered employment position, you are held to a different set of standards due to any limitations you may have resulting from your service connected disabilities. The employer may have also developed the job specifically for you to allow you to keep working. For example, you may have permission to go home due to a migraine or are allowed to work individually if you have severe anxiety or other mental health condition. Family businesses are a common example of sheltered work environments, since you’re still employed but likely receive extra accommodations for your specific impairment. " Again, there was no trade or business and I was not an employee nor was I self employed. I did pay taxes on the money. It was categorized as other income. I was able to work at my own pace and quit whenever I needed. I do not think this was Substantial Gainful Employment. Any comments or suggestions as to how to approach this? Happy Trails, Paul

I m sorry this question is for the pre 1975 vets that have become eligible for the program on Oct 1 2020.

Has anyone in Oregon received a decision letter about acceptance into the PCAFC caregiver program? We filed an application on October 26, 2020 and have gone through all the assessment interviews, which concluded on December 2, 2020. Now, we are in Hurry up and Wait mode. This is for the pre 1975 vets that became eligible for the program on Oct 1, 2020.

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Yes, Ken Carpenter is my lawyer

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How long did the process take?

Anyone have experience with sending their claim to the Director of Compensation for Extraschedular consideration? REASONS FOR REMAND 1. Entitlement to an earlier effective date for a total rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is remanded. The Veteran asserts entitlement to an earlier effective date for his TDIU. The Board notes that his TDIU is effective May 19, 2009. Prior to that date, the Veteran does not meet the criteria for consideration for entitlement to TDIU on a schedular basis because the combined rating does not satisfy the percentage requirements. In this regard, the Veteran does not have a single disability of 60 percent disabling and he does not have a service-connected disability that is 40 percent or greater with a total combined disability rating of 70 percent. 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(a). Nevertheless, the Veteran may be entitled to a TDIU on an extraschedular basis if it is established that he is unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment as a result of the effect of his service-connected disabilities. 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(b). Therefore, if the schedular percentage threshold criteria are not met, but there is evidence of unemployability due to service-connected disabilities, the case must be submitted to the Director, Compensation Services, for extraschedular consideration of a TDIU. 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(b). Neither the RO nor the Board may assign an extraschedular TDIU in the first instance. Bowling v. Principi, 15 Vet. App. 1, 10 (2001). There is competent medical evidence, to include a July 2017 vocational assessment, suggesting that the Veteran was unable to work due to his service-connected lumbar disability during this time. See 09/05/2017 Medical Treatment Record – Non-Gov’t Facility. As such, the Board finds that a referral is warranted. This matter is REMANDED for the following actions: 1. Obtain any outstanding VA treatment records. All requests and responses for the records must be documented. If any records cannot be obtained, notify the Veteran and his representative of the missing records, the efforts taken, and any further efforts that will be made by VA to obtain such evidence, and allow him an opportunity to provide the missing records 2. Send appropriate notice to the Veteran regarding TDIU and complete any necessary development. This should include sending the Veteran an application form (VA Form 21-8940) and advising the Veteran of the necessity of notifying the AOJ of his employment history and his educational background for proper adjudication of the TDIU matter. He should be asked to specifically identify by date the period or periods during which he claims individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities. 3. Refer the Veteran’s request for a TDIU per § 4.16(b) to the Director, Compensation Service, for extraschedular consideration as to whether his service-connected disabilities preclude him from participating in gainful employment prior to May 19, 2009. 4. After completion of the above, readjudicate entitlement to a TDIU considering all relevant evidence.

Well, my attorney is Ken Carpenter. He is a very well respected lawyer but very expensive.

So, if the EAJA fees do not cover the full 30% attorney fees, then the balance would be due to the attorney and paid by me from the award. Is this correct?

Is a 30% contingency fee excessive to take a claim to the CAVC. I understand that EAJA may pay all or the major portion of the fee. Even if the court affirms the previous Board decision the attorney gets EAJA fees. Is this correct?

Well, the university decided to reopen with all classroom classes moved to online classes and if a class can not be taught online then it will be dropped. They also have waived the additional online fee. We had already registered for all online classes and now they are telling us that we must pay the fee. I guess what we could do is sign up for classroom classes that are free of fees and drop the online classes. But now, we were thinking that these new classes that were changed from classroom to online might be a poor idea because they could have a lot of problems. I wrote an email to the Vice President of Student Services and basically said that all students should be exempt from online fees. I did notice that many classes are only taught online that is why the university is saying that we need to pay. The term was shortened to 10 weeks, instead of 11. My wife and son are receiving chapter 35 benefits and we are not sure how the VA is going to handle all these changes.

If the VA does pay for what was certified for the term that would be great. Now, we have to ask the university if they plan on granting credits for the term. Would not be a good situation to have the VA grant the payments, deduct that from the 45 months of benefits and have the university not count the credits towards graduation. This is for dependents Chapter 35 benefits.