HadIt.com Elder fanaticbooks Posted December 9, 2010 HadIt.com Elder Share Posted December 9, 2010 NOTE: VA_Fast_Letter_09-26.pdf DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Veterans Benefits Administration Washington, D.C. 20420 June 5, 2009 Director (00/21) All VA Regional Offices In Reply Refer To: 216A Fast Letter 09-26 SUBJ: Revised Fiduciary Accounting Requirements Background Information 38 U.S.C. 5502 and 38 CFR 13.100 require VA to supervise the fiduciaries appointed to manage the estates of incompetent beneficiaries. Public Law 108-454 increases VA's fiduciary oversight responsibility and imposes penalties on VA for cases of misuse of funds where a lack of appropriate supervision of the fiduciary is found. Account audits are an integral component of fiduciary supervision. Federal account audit practice currently requires federal fiduciaries to submit VAForm 21-4706b, Federal Fiduciary's Account, and VA Form 21-4718a, Certificate of Balance on Deposit and Authorization to Disclose Financial Records. Court appointed fiduciaries are required to furnish a court-certified copy of the accounting submitted to the court along with certification of assets. The C&P Service has reviewed cases involving misuse of funds. In multiple instances, fiduciaries were able to transfer money into a beneficiary's bank account prior to the accounting due date. The accounting submitted showed what was seemingly a correct balance; however, the amount stated was only a snapshot of the correct balance for each beneficiary at the time of the accounting. Cases reviewed have shown the potential for considerable misuseof funds resulting from this practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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