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Handling Your Own Finances

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Steppenwolf

Question

Yesterday when i met a new service officer and told him that i wanted to request TDIU he informed me that some mental health issues that are TDIU require someone else to manage finances.

Don't think i ever heard that before. If there are circumstances where this is true how do i find out what they are?

He also informed me that a NOD was the wrong way to ask for an increase in %.

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who is your representative? a service organization or a lawyer? A good lawyer should be able to with that evidence push to get the right award with a lot of luck if you get it filed before the one year mark passes then a NOD is the right way to go you are still in the window just don't file it the day after the one year mark passes.......with as much money as you have at stake I hope you got a GOOD rep

After the edit: a phone caLL before i posted resulted in a couple of disjointed paragraphs. Sorry for even more confusion to the confusion.

Not an attorney. The DAV is my POA and they started this round of appeal(s) for me in 01. They went to a DRO hearing in 04 with me. They went to the travel board hearing with me in 06. Since then i've been having problems with them. They argue with me and in my humble opinion they are now as much of the problem as anything that i have run into over the whole case. So for instance i called them the week that i received the judges decision in the mail. It is approach this 120 day time limit and i have not filed a reply yet. The DAV as well as The BVA as well as the 800 number and probably as well as some of my HADIT buddies here tell me: " You do not need a POA or attorney or representative of any kind to reply. " Those words are easy to understand. However, what is not easy to understand is this: What choice best serves me and my unique case and circumstances? If my memory serves me correctly ( and i know that over time my memory is effected by time and medications if nothing else ) then what i chose to do is critical. Why wouldn't an attorney and or a representative make sure that they understand the specifics of the claim before suggesting anything? i KNOW where every mistake has been made. Those VSO's who took the time to listen then look at those points and places where the mistakes were made helped lead me to the 2009 award. If i had taken the advice of family and friends who thought i was crazy for fighting for this for 40 years; i would have given up after my 1975 denial which came with the help of a pro-bono attorney ( not experienced in VA LAW ) Now i get similar advice to " be happy with what you got and enjoy your life " Maybe they are right since i sometimes think that i am losing touch with the reality of it all and i get instant debilitating headaches, radical arrhythmia that stops me in my tracks, and at times the need to unplug and go silent.

These are the exact words on the form:

How do I file a motion for reconsideration? You can file a motion asking the BVA to reconsider any part of this decision by writing a letter to the BVA clearly explaining why you believe that the BVA committed an obvious error of fact or law, or stating that new and material military service records have been discovered that apply to your appeal. It is important that such letter be as specific as possible. A general statement of dissatisfaction with the BVA decision or some other aspect of the VA claims adjudication process will not suffice. If the BVA has decided more than one issue, be sure to tell us which issue(s) you want reconsidered. Issues not clearly identified will not be considered. Send your letter to:

Director, Management, Planning and Analysis (014) Board of Veterans' Appeals 810 Vermont Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20420

Remember, the Board places no time limit on filing a motion for reconsideration, and you can do this at any time. However, if you also plan to appeal this decision to the Court, you must file your motion within 120 days from the date of this decision.

For me the part that needs explaination has to do with the relative aspect of the 120 day time frame. Sounds to me like it only refers to filing with the federal court for a hearing.

If my understanding is of this is accurate; what is not clear is will i forever loose my right to appeal to them at some point in the future?

If the 120 days refers to this and only this then would it not make more sense to polish up my letter to say what is most relative and pertinent before sending it in?

TV, Do you understand this form?

Edited by Steppenwolf
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  • HadIt.com Elder

If you want to file a reconsideration request you should do it now, altho I feel it is a waste of time!!! Or you can file w/the CAVC. Either way it'll "probably" be years before you get what you want. (jmo) The CAVC could rule in your favor but, I think, generally they remand. Once the claim is filed many attorneys will send you requests to represent you. The CAVC will waiver the filing fee, if you request it. Otherwise the only way I know to keep your EED is to claim a CUE, later, which can be hard to win.

pr

Not an attorney. The DAV is my POA and they started this round of appeal(s) for me in 01. They went to a DRO hearing in 04 with me. They went to the travel board hearing with me in 06. Since then i've been having problems with them. They argue with me and in my humble opinion they are now as much of the problem as anything that i have run into over the whole case. So for instance i called them the week that i received the judges decision in the mail. It is approach this 120 day time limit and i have not filed a reply yet. The DAV as well as The BVA as well as the 800 number and probably as well as some of my HADIT buddies here tell me: " You do not need a POA or attorney or representative of any kind to reply. " Those words are easy to understand. However, what is not easy to understand is this: What choice best serves me and my unique case and circumstances? If my memory serves me correctly ( and i know that over time my memory is effected by time and medications if nothing else ) then what i chose to do is critical. Why wouldn't an attorney and or a representative make sure that they understand

in my that " we hear this all the time. You're case is over. There is nothing left to do." And they never call me back. The other day i met with a different DAV VSO who actually looked at the evidence and had a different idea. But he won't submit my reply to the judges decision without submitting ALL of my new evidence.

This are the exact words on the form:

How do I file a motion for reconsideration? You can file a motion asking the BVA to reconsider any part of this decision by writing a letter to the BVA clearly explaining why you believe that the BVA committed an obvious error of fact or law, or stating that new and material military service records have been discovered that apply to your appeal. It is important that such letter be as specific as possible. A general statement of dissatisfaction with the BVA decision or some other aspect of the VA claims adjudication process will not suffice. If the BVA has decided more than one issue, be sure to tell us which issue(s) you want reconsidered. Issues not clearly identified will not be considered. Send your letter to:

Director, Management, Planning and Analysis (014) Board of Veterans' Appeals 810 Vermont Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20420

Remember, the Board places no time limit on filing a motion for reconsideration, and you can do this at any time. However, if you also plan to appeal this decision to the Court, you must file your motion within 120 days from the date of this decision.

For me the part that needs explaination has to do with the relative aspect of the 120 day time frame. Sounds to me like it only refers to filing with the federal court for a hearing.

If my understanding is of this is accurate; what is not clear is will i forever loose my right to appeal to them at some point in the future?

If the 120 days refers to this and only this then would it not make more sense to polish up my letter to say what is most relative and pertinent before sending it in?

TV, Do you understand this form?

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Because throughout the VA there is the assumption that the previous rating decision was correct. It is quite prevelent. For many yrs, prior to his death, we had attorney Alex Humphrey, from the DC area, here, that posted regularly and he had the same feeling about the reconsideration. You may be able to use it as a stalling process but I wouldn't put much hope in it. They generally just rubber stamp the previous decision. I've been here about 15 yrs or so and have never heard of a win thru reconsideration. Not to say there hasn't been any but . . . . . . I think someone here (maybe Wings) has one going or already has been denied again, thru a reconsideration.

pr

Pr: " If you want to file a reconsideration request you should do it now, altho I feel it is a waste of time!!! "

And why do you think this PR?

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Because throughout the VA there is the assumption that the previous rating decision was correct. It is quite prevelent. For many yrs, prior to his death, we had attorney Alex Humphrey, from the DC area, here, that posted regularly and he had the same feeling about the reconsideration. You may be able to use it as a stalling process but I wouldn't put much hope in it. They generally just rubber stamp the previous decision. I've been here about 15 yrs or so and have never heard of a win thru reconsideration. Not to say there hasn't been any but . . . . . . I think someone here (maybe Wings) has one going or already has been denied again, thru a reconsideration.

pr

i'll be the first to admit that i sometimes have problems understanding the nuances of terms used by the VA.

So, for instance, this VA from 4597 that was sent to me has the title on it: YOUR RIGHTS TO APPEAL OUR DECISION

Can we say then that what i will be doing is "appealing"? If i am appealing and if the decision that was just rendered was rendered on my "appeal", then i too have won a reversal of a previous decision. If however the term "appeal" is somehow generic and the DRO hearing and denial as well as the travel board hearing was something different, then how did i get to THAT place and what is that place called?

The travel board judge answered a question that i asked her about what you called "rubber stamping" and she agreed with you that there is an assumption that the first and or previous personnel got it right. She went on to say that " this is why any "new and material evidence needs to be convincingly powerful enough to shed new light on an old claim"

In my case the mental health issue was clearly in my service records although it was diagnosed as something other than what it is. After the DRO ridiculed my evidence including the letter from my VA doctor who had just become certified as a forensic psychiatrist, he immediately addressed he critique, questioned her medical experience and knowledge of the dis-order and also commented to me that it was apparent that she was not well versed in legal matters and from her grammar may not have had a college education. i made sure that i mentioned that to the travel board judge at my hearing. The judge did not make a decision but instead did what you might expect: she remanded to the BVA who remanded it to VARO, who reversed the decision going from denied to 50%. Even that 50% is wrong if you consider that i have not worked as a result of my SC disability; and that is clearly stated in the records they have and in all of the new VA and private medical records since 2001.

As i said earlier: if i do nothing then i get nothing.

What is troubling most to me now still has to do with the choices listed in that 4597 form and the many ways that it seems to be interpreted.

So, for instance, you said: "If you want to file a reconsideration request you should do it now, altho I feel it is a waste of time!!! "

This is what the 4597 says:

"Remember, the Board places no time limit on filing a motion for reconsideration, and you can do this at any time. However, if you also plan to appeal this decision to the Court, you must file your motion within 120 days from the date of this decision."

i want to know if the 120 days only applies to filing with the CAVC then why should i rush to send the BVA a letter for reconsideration "now" when my instincts and past experiences tell me that if the BVA get's the letter before my HOD hearing at VARO; VARO will more than likely send all of my records back to DC delaying my hearing. Although no one else has thought that this is a possibility i'm thinking that it might be the case. Am i right about at least this last part?

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Is there an answer to this question?

i sometimes don't know if people get defensive or maybe they really do not know the answer to the question, or maybe it's me....i remember that from my days in the military: someone doesn't like what you say or how you say it, they project that you're being argumentative or something....whatever it is they chose to not reply.

If there is something that i said wrong here or didn't ask right, then please point it out.

i want to know what these options mean on the VA Form 4597.

After reading it ten plus times it seems to say that the 120 days only concerns the CAVC filing.

i also think, this is just me thinking that: not understanding the consequence of my actions and choices is what got me into this fine mess anyway. i have far too many letters from the VA saying: You did not reply in the time allowed so we have ruled: Go back directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200.00.

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