What Happens If You Move During Claim Process?

[gwvet90]

Hi,

I have a new claim in with the VARO & also a NOD appeals in with them.

I am wanting to move to another state & wonder what happens to my claim? Does it move to the new state with me, or does it stay in the original state until it is decided/finished & then move to my new state?

Also - I am wanting to move into warmer climate - but don't have an exact place picked out -

I would appreciate any info &/or opinions on the different state's VARO (which ones have best service etc.) & the VA hospitals -& the best state benefits (tax exemptions/college for dependants/etc) - basically , from a veterans standpoint - what is the best state to live in?

[Guest DON20906]

It's crap shoot. There's plenty of opportunity for things to get screwed up in these situtations. Once the RO gets your change of address, they should pack everything up and send it to the new VARO. Maybe they will, maybe they won't. The critical thing is to know where your claims folder is at any given time. To keep things from getting totally lost, I'd wait until the NODs are acknowledged, you get an SOC, a Form 9, a VCAA Response Notice Form with the 60-day waiver signed and returned and your appeal is certified to the BVA. Then send your change of address to the Board AND the current and new VAROs and request that your file be transfered to the new VARO once the appeals are decided. Do everything by registered mail. If your appeal is remanded, it will likely go to the Appeals Management Center, up Eye Street from the BVA in DC, however if it is remanded back to the RO it is likely to be the original one, not the new one. Ask the new VARO to establish a drop file on you and the old RO to send your existing drop file to the new one. If your c-file is sent to a new VARO with open issues and NODs hanging on it, it's liable to be ignored. ROs don't like to get messy c-files from other ROs.

Hi,

I have a new claim in with the VARO & also a NOD appeals in with them.

I am wanting to move to another state & wonder what happens to my claim? Does it move to the new state with me, or does it stay in the original state until it is decided/finished & then move to my new state?

Also - I am wanting to move into warmer climate - but don't have an exact place picked out -

I would appreciate any info &/or opinions on the different state's VARO (which ones have best service etc.) & the VA hospitals -& the best state benefits (tax exemptions/college for dependants/etc) - basically , from a veterans standpoint - what is the best state to live in?

[Guest DON20906]

BTW, you stand a MUCH better chance of keeping track of the process if you have one of the major VSOs (American Legion, DAV, VFW) represent you. At the ROs they will have access to COVERS and MAP-D, the two computer programs ROs use to track and develop claims. At the BVA the VSO will help you follow your appeal on VACOLs, the Board's computer system. By yourself, it will be much more difficult.

Hi,

I have a new claim in with the VARO & also a NOD appeals in with them.

I am wanting to move to another state & wonder what happens to my claim? Does it move to the new state with me, or does it stay in the original state until it is decided/finished & then move to my new state?

Also - I am wanting to move into warmer climate - but don't have an exact place picked out -

I would appreciate any info &/or opinions on the different state's VARO (which ones have best service etc.) & the VA hospitals -& the best state benefits (tax exemptions/college for dependants/etc) - basically , from a veterans standpoint - what is the best state to live in?

[Pete53]

I may be nuts well the VA says I am but I wonder why people feel they have to buy a house when they move. I suggest a plan where you rent and take your time. When I move I will never own a house again.

I know in Dallas area you can rent a nice place between 600 to 1200 a month. Being disabled the City of Dallas will even help you with your rent.

BTW Rick you gave a great synoposis of Texas but a 100% Veteran is also entitled to a Disabilty Exemption that allows the same deduction as a Senior Citizen and the Veteran cutting my taxes by over 50%.

They are still pretty high though in my opinion but we don't have a State Income Tax either.

[john999]

Pete

If you come to Florida as a 100% P&T vet you get a 100% tax exemption on your home. Also no state income tax, and it is not quite as hot as Texas. A friend was in Houston a few days ago and said it was so hot he just threw his golf clubs back in the car and went back to his brother's house. What was you highest cooling bill last summer?

[Guest rickb54]

Pete,

Your right, I got the disability exemption in addition to the va exemption as well.... but teh amount depends on the county as to how much it is. Bell county was not very generous.

[EODMOMMY]

Gwen

Florida has great weather in the winter. The summers usually start in May and last til late October.

We are talking very hot and very humid. The VA hospitals here are very busy and have been rocked by scandals. Patients dying and malpractice seems to happen all the time in my area which is the Tampa Bay region. The cost of living is not really high yet but it is going up pretty fast since the state is being paved over at an alarming rate. The north central part of the state seems the best to me. Stay away from the coast since it is expensive and hurricanes come and go. Orlando is getting a new VAMC soon I think and Gainesville already has one. I vote for some place close to Gainesville. I was in Arizona and I like the Prescott area and they have a VAMC. Housing is not cheap and it gets cold in the winter but it is always sunny.

I am in Sourth Georgia and I can vouch for the humidity. Uggh!! I like Florida, my husband use to have to go down to Avon Park to do range clearances for weeks at a time and we would go and visit him there.

The Gainsville VA Hospital, I don't know. My husband had to go down there twice for his C&P exams. They did the regular one and then he had to go down again because they didn't have an orthopedic doctor there to do the orthopedic exam. But the totally overlooked what he was medically retired for, which would have required a cardiac workup, which they never did. I spoke to one airman who was medically seperated and she had the same problems with the hospital at Gainsville, she didn't get her disability rating till she moved to Las Vegas several years later. All because Gainsville didn't want to do an MRI on her.