ptsd Dea/(chap 35) Mumbo Jumbo

[Berta]

Educational assistance shall not exceed 10 years after one of

the following last occurs: (A) The date on which the

Secretary first finds the spouse from whom eligibility is

derived has a service-connected total disability permanent in

nature; ( The date of death of the spouse from whom

eligibility is derived who dies while a total disability

evaluated as permanent in nature was in existence; © The

date on which the Secretary determines that the spouse from

whom eligibility is derived died of a service-connected

disability. 38 U.S.C. § 3512(B)(1) (West 2002); 38 C.F.R. §

21.3021(a) (2008).

OK- I received Chapter 35 when Rod was declared 100% SC P & T due to PTSD a decade ago by the VA.

My Chapter 35 ten year entitlement ran out so I paid $6,000 in tuition to finish my degree at AMU.

You all know I got a direct service death award letter.Which I complained about to the VARO and they cannot give me a status yet.

One of the numerous errors in the letter was any statement at all as to CHapter 35.

The statement also has to cover my daughter -who has her Chapter 35 Certificate and also has time left to use it as they added in her 7 years of mil service to her entitlement date-(3 weeks after they got NOD on the wrong date)

so this affects both of us.

Do you all interpret the above to mean-

if the 'one of the following last' occurred-meaning my AO death award letter-May 13,2009 was last-

doesnt the VA have to send me a new Chapter 35 award-and my daughter- and

is that what I need to recover the 6,000 bucks?

[tssnave]

PR,

I think ultimately the VA will cap education benefits for anybody from any program at the 48 months.

Let us know how it plays out for your ex.

Thanks,

TS

[broncovet]

TSSnave

They already have "capped" benefits at 48 months, in a round about way. You see, most of these programs are not good for graduate degrees..only for a Bachelors. And, with most of them you only get paid for credit hours towards your degree. Since a Bachelors is a 4 year degree, that essentially means you are capped at 48 months.

[Philip Rogers]

broncovet, actually doesn't a 4 yr degree usually take 36 months, ie: 4-9 month yrs??? So that leaves an extra yr, at the 45 month level. jmo

TS - I'll keep ya posted.

pr

[tssnave]

BroncoVet,

The pamphlet (page 11 which shows as 17 of 40 on the counter) states you can use the benefits for a graduate degree.

This would be helpful for a civilian non-veteran spouse who had already gotten their undergraduate degree without the help of any other VA program and wanted to pursue a graduate degree after they became eligible for chap 35 DEA.

I agree, though, that for the spouse who does not have some college already, the cap basically limits you to a bachelors degree.

Thanks,

TS Snave

Edited July 15, 2009 by tssnave

[LarryJ]

My son, who is now getting ready to start his final semester of his masters degree, is using his chap 35 DEA. He is 25 y.o. and will be 26 in Oct. but seeing as how they didn't get around to awarding my 100% P&T until after almost two years after I had turned in my claim, then they had to "back-date" HIS chap 35 and start like they were paying him before he got too old to qualify, and, since he is now officially in the chap 35 "program" they have to continue paying him as long as he hasn't used up his 45 months worth of eligibility.

or sumptin lak dat.

And, The Wife is starting her EMBA program, and she has ALL her 45 months left, so she's in good shape.

Edited July 15, 2009 by LarryJ

[deltaj]

Berta..

I hope you dont get caught in the "new law" that I mentioned in my previous post,"

This is a change in law that became effective December 10, 2004. If you were previously eligible based on your spouse’s death on active duty, and your 10-year eligibility period expired before December 10, 2004, you now have a new eligibility period of 20 years from the date of your spouse’s death. However, in those cases we can pay only for training that began on or after December 10, 2004.

The other issue is I am trying to find out if there is a "retro cap" of two years, or that was just in my particular case because my effective date of P and T was two years ago. I havent been able to find out for sure of this yet, but I know my son was not able to get Ch. 35 Retro beyond two years.

This sounds like liberalizing law effective December 10, 2004. Try visiting a law library and see if you can find a law in Title 38 United States Code that includes the provisions mentioned.