Last month, I filed a NOD with a NOVA lawyer. During my meeting with him, my lawyer asked me why I was not recieving additional compensation for having a spouse. So I dug out the letter they sent me in October 2006, denying me additional compensation because I did not enclose official stamped copies of my wife's and my divorce certificates from previous marriages. I have had no contact with my ex-wife since 1990, and I did not have any idea of how I could get a copy of the divorce certificate - I gave up. My ex-wife had sent me a copy of the divorce, but it got lost sometime, somewhere... I didn't even know where my divorce had taken place, as we had separated and I moved to a different state. My lawyer told me the VA had a 'Duty to Assist' me, but the local VSO has refuted that, saying it only applies to Federal records and medical records. Since we are in dire straights now, I researched on the Internet and 'believe' I found the right State to send my request for a copy of my divorce. I have mailed my request and money order, and hope to recieve the copy any day now. But I have questions:
Will sending in a VA Form 21-4138 Statement in Support of Claim, to have my wife added as a dependent, make the fine-tuned VA machine grind to a halt on my NOD?
Is there any way to get backpay to the date of my 30% SC award, which is when the dependent compensation should have started? There are extenuating circumstances I could bring up, but I am afraid of clouding the issue too much.
The VA wants the original stamped copies that I have paid for, and I am very concerned that they will just disappear. Is there any way to ask for the originals to be sent back?
Thanks in advance for any advice, help, and suggestions!
Question
Bonzai
Last month, I filed a NOD with a NOVA lawyer. During my meeting with him, my lawyer asked me why I was not recieving additional compensation for having a spouse. So I dug out the letter they sent me in October 2006, denying me additional compensation because I did not enclose official stamped copies of my wife's and my divorce certificates from previous marriages. I have had no contact with my ex-wife since 1990, and I did not have any idea of how I could get a copy of the divorce certificate - I gave up. My ex-wife had sent me a copy of the divorce, but it got lost sometime, somewhere... I didn't even know where my divorce had taken place, as we had separated and I moved to a different state. My lawyer told me the VA had a 'Duty to Assist' me, but the local VSO has refuted that, saying it only applies to Federal records and medical records. Since we are in dire straights now, I researched on the Internet and 'believe' I found the right State to send my request for a copy of my divorce. I have mailed my request and money order, and hope to recieve the copy any day now. But I have questions:
- Will sending in a VA Form 21-4138 Statement in Support of Claim, to have my wife added as a dependent, make the fine-tuned VA machine grind to a halt on my NOD?
- Is there any way to get backpay to the date of my 30% SC award, which is when the dependent compensation should have started? There are extenuating circumstances I could bring up, but I am afraid of clouding the issue too much.
- The VA wants the original stamped copies that I have paid for, and I am very concerned that they will just disappear. Is there any way to ask for the originals to be sent back?
Thanks in advance for any advice, help, and suggestions!Louis
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