Sidney56

My last post was very long....sorry One thing that I failed to mention was, on my last scheduled mental health appointment I was sent to a new doctor. I asked her why I had a change of doctors and she told me that my previous doctor had been assigned as a C&P examiner. Wouldn't it be a conflict of interest if she(first doctor) or the previous C&P examiner performed this exam? I told her that I was seeing an outside psychiatrist and he asked her to fill the prescriptions that he had written. She refused to fill one, but did fill the other. She also stated that she would not treat me if I am seeing another(outside) doctor. She set-up another appointment with her in 4 mos to give me time to determine who I wanted to treat me. This is a no-brainer. I do however, continue to keep all my appointments.

Hey guys....it been a while since I posted, as this is not my best time of year. I get really depressed when it seems I should be joyful with others. Oh well, things could be worse I suppose. My question: As posted earlier, I was awarded 100% P&T last August and found to be incompetent in July of this year. I had a VA field examiner come out and interview myself and wife and these were her exact statements. She recommended my wife to be my fiduciary and suggested that I get a IMO to refute the previous C&P exam that proposed incompetency. She stated that if I was incompetent, she surely must be incompetent! She suggested that I not go to a VA doc for the opinion, but someone from the outside. I immediately filed an appeal asking for a DRO hearing through my local VSO. He said it would probably take about 12-15 months to get a hearing. He sent me to a psychiatric doctor that specializes in these issues. Upon my first visit, the doctor was furious and stated that he sees this type of injustice all the time. He had me do a exam with his psychologist and said he would review the findings. Upon my next visit, he stated that he found no evidence of incompetency and would write a letter stating that fact. A week later, the letter was in my mail. I took it to my VSO and he immediately faxed a copy of the letter to the Regional Office DRO and he received a call from the Regional office the next day(last Tuesday) stating that a hearing had already been scheduled, but there was no need for me to attend it, because she was scheduling a new C&P. My VSO said he was astounded because he had never witnessed the process moving so fast and I should receive a C&P sometime the first of next year. Well, I received a call today from my VAMC stating that a C&P exam has been scheduled for the 23rd of this month(next week)! What the hell! I have seen a lot of examples of IMOs on the board and they were very detailed. My letter is short and simple. I asked my VSO about this, and he said it was all I needed. He has been right so far. What do you guys think of the letter? To: Mr. VSO Re: Mr. Me Dear Mr. VSO, I have been treating Mr. Me psychiatrically since September 27, 2011 for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD). It is my opinion that Mr. Me is mentally competent to manage his financial affairs. He does not need or require a payer to manage his monies. Respectfully, Signature Dr Name, MD It is too late for him to revise the letter, because it has already been submitted as evidence. I see where everyone is saying that the letter would be shot down if it does not state that he has "reviewed all my medical records". I even put this question to him at my first visit, and he stated that he has read all the C&P exams rendered by the VA and they are all boiler plate. He actually was an examiner for the VA for many years. I have a tele-conference with his office this morning @ 10:30 as a follow-up concerning the meds he prescribed for me. Should I question his IMO format? Things are moving so fast, that I feel like I'm caught in a whirl wind!

I would like to see this post. Is there a reason that it was deleted?

Yes..Yes...Yes!!!!! Sue I'm so GLAD for you and K!!! This is great news. When we spoke on the phone, I told you that I believe prayer works and the God that I know always comes through in our time of need. Now relax a little and take care of K and yourself!

Thanks Pete buddy!! Who says we old fellas don't think straight . Your question is mine also and I submitted a NOD before I even received the letter. I hope these idiots don't think that I'm going down without a fight. Your opinion means a lot to me. Probably, because it's mine also. I even had a DAV/NSO at the RO tell me that there was no reason to appeal this decision, because it is non-appeal-able. Jim Strickland told me that is a bunch of bull**** . He said anything can be appealed. If I was really incompetent, I would have believed his(NSO) crap. He even told me that they would not appoint my wife because they stopped doing that in light of all the misuse by spouses. Hell, what about these other Federal Fiduciaries that are being charged ever day. I would rather my wife misuse it(which will not happen), then some sorry thieving SOB that I would have to pay to steal from me. Have good and safe holiday buddy.

Thanks Notorious....We all served in some capacity for our country and I thank each of my comrades in battle(past & present). However, now our country(VA) has decided that we are no longer an asset, but a liability. Hopefully, this will be the last hurdle and I can have some type of normalcy in my life, even though I'm still coping with my injuries.

I understand Philip. The VA provides me with all the crack, meth, and booze that I need, free of charge. Just kidding Thanks

I had my son's Sorento repaired at a Kia dealership and got a discount on the final bill. Had to ask for it though. I don't know if this is everywhere. I always ask regardless of what I'm purchasing. Most businesses won't volunteer the information. I live near a military installation (Fort Bragg, Pope Air Force Base), so a lot of businesses use this to lure in customers. Happy and SAFE holiday guys.

Thanks Philip....I'm not sweating it, but I just don't like someone having this much control over me and my family. I served honorably with some of the highest secret clearances there are, and now I'm being scrutinized as to whether I can pay my bills! Why they want to know what other bank accts we have is ridiculous. I guess they want to monitor them to see if we are trying to hide some other type of income. IF I was trying to do that, I would just open another acct some where else . What kind of restrictions are they going to implement on how we spend my money? Yes, we need things that we could not afford before(reliable vehicle, furniture, etc.), so will they try to say this is excessive spending? I need CDs because I will not be able to draw SS until I'm 65. This should be deemed a necessary investment and I will explain this to the examiner. Anyway, thanks for the feedback.

I have not been on the board for awhile, because I had 3 friends pass in the last week. I have been attending memorial services and trying to cope with the losses. I received a letter from the VA stating that they are considering my wife as my fiduciary and to send the directions to my home for the field examiner visit. They want a response to the letter within 5 days of the dated letter. Hell I just received the letter, and it is a holiday weekend. 4 days will have passed before any thing opens for business again. This is idiotic!! They are asking for all kinds of information to have ready for the visit. 1. Current bank accts and statements for my wife and I. I have one and wife has one 2. Life insurance policies Wife has one through her job 3. Burial plans Don't have 4. All property owned None 5. All stocks, bonds, cds None 6. All information on automobiles, campers, boats, or other property Just got one with loan from father-in-law for down payment 7. Any other assets. None The field examiner will also need to know about any and all monthly expenses for myself and wife. We will need to provide 2 character references contact information so they can contact at least 1. Field examiner will conduct a credit check. Yes, our credit is bad, because we have been dealing with these idiots for the last 10 years. How are we suppose to have good credit with only 1 income and my measly $200 a month. They asked that we open a bank acct(already done) with my wife as the payee. Will I have to close my current bank acct? My wife has her own acct because her job does direct deposit. I don't like having to invite a stranger into my home and then try to convince them that we can handle our own financial affairs. Damn, what do they think we have been doing for the last 20 years!!! I know Omg-Sue and k are waiting on a visit also. Has anyone else already been through this fiasco? Any suggestions could help us to get through this mess.

I understand the seriousness of the matter broncovet. Believe me I do! A bad decision would actually ruin my family. I still need to get this NOD in ASAP though, correct. I see the ad for Bergman and Moore. Is this how I contact them. I'm not sure if I have the time to seek council before they make a decision. It seems that this is a never ending battle. I thought after all the years I had won, but now I see it was just a battle in a huge war.

Thanks broncovet for your input. You make some very valid points. I was actually pondering those points with my wife and decided to come back online to see if there were any more responses and here you are stating those exact questions that we were discussing. I was waiting to ask Jim Strickland if I should go ahead and get a lawyer now or later. He told me that he had a lawyer if I needed one. I'm not sure if it is "pro bono" or not. I would appreciate it if you would elaborate on the EAJA a little more and I could speak with Mr. Strickland on the subject. Does this lawyer that contacted you practice in a certain region? I will be taking my NOD to the VARO tomorrow as suggested by Mr. Strickland. Whom do I give it to? Should I find the American Legion VSO(POA) and have him/her deliver it or what? I have read here somewhere that I should get a time stamp or something validating receipt of documents.

Yes GuaymasJim, I am in constant contact with Mr. Strickland. In fact, I just finished speaking with him and he assured me that he would stand with me until this is rectified. He even contacts me to see if I'm moving forward as he suggested. He also told me that he has legal council in place if it should come to that. The reason I stated that the C&P was inadequate, is because I and my wife specifically told the C&P examiner that the only reason that I didn't pay any bills was because I was not working and she was the only one receiving a pay check and I put my little $200 towards groceries. How they got unable to handle financial affairs from that, I don't know. No, I don't have a problem with my wife being my fiduciary, if there was any guarantee that they would appoint her. After being married for 18 years, I don't see any risk in that situation. But I don't make those decisions. Yes I feel highly Blessed to hear Jim Strickland say "Don't worry, I got your back"! He really thinks highly of our Berta, and we all know that she knows her stuff When she sinks her teeth into something, she's worst than a pit bull. Thanks for your input. I will include that line in the 4138 with copies of the documents. You guys are AWESOME!!! Well, I guess tomorrow is road trip time. I will be hand delivering this to the VARO. I think that will be 4 hours well spent.

Yea QUAD, I have Berta to thank for pointing me in the right direction. Jim is a great guy and stays in contact with me since I solicited his help. He said to send his best wishes to Berta and all the Hadit members and he is sorry that he can't post here due to time constraints with VAwatchdog.org. I know Omg-Sue and K are going through the same nightmare also. I have not heard an update from her lately, so I might give her a call. I am actually filling out the 4138 now to get in the mail first thing in the morning. I will keep it generic just to get the ball rolling. This hopefully will stave off any outside appointment until my wife and I can sit down face to face with someone in a hearing to give our evidence. Here is an example of the 4138, will this suffice: Refer To: XXX/XXX/XXX ******** CSS XXX XX XXX ******** My Name I am appealing your determination of incompetence per your letter dated XXX XX, 2011. I would like a hearing scheduled at the earliest possible date to present my evidence in this appeal. I want my compensation benefits to continue while I appeal the rating decision dated XXXX XX, 2011. I would like to give notice that I received an inadequate examination during the C&P exam dated XXXXX XX, 2010. What good it will do is any ones' guess. My main concern is to keep them from locking my monthly compensation while we try to get this thing sorted out. As I have stated before, I have no problems with my wife being my fiduciary, but our credit is not good and I'm sure they will use this to try and disqualify her. Which doesn't make any sense to me, because we have been in financial difficulties since I had to stop work. They don't look at things logically though. Everything is black and white to the VA. There is no gray area. If the majority of them had any gray matter, vets would not be in the situations that we face at this present time. It really burns my chaps to know that some VSO's are not going to bat for the vets that they are suppose to be helping. My VSO seems to think that this is a bad idea as it might cause a reduction in my rating. He wants to take the wait and see position and I believe that trying to reverse an appointment of a outside fiduciary(other than my wife) would be almost impossible, as opposed to fighting this before it happens. As I keep saying, "If I Can't Have What Is Rightfully Mine, Then No One Will"!