Is This A&a Eligibile

[silke]

Hello all, hope your enjoying your summer........Our Vso was supposed to look into getting A&A for my husband, but he is extremely busy and hasnt had a chance yet, so I need to go at this alone....evidence is as follows: Rating letter June 2011,..from the horses mouth:

"The examiner reports impairment to your cognitive function; thought process and content as well as your ability to maintain your minimum personal hygiene. It is the Va examin

ers observation that you have total occupational and social impairment in all areas of functioning. The Va examiner notes that you rely on your wife to guide you. You are unable to initiate activity; you stay at home in the den; and you cannot tolerate being in public places or interact with people. In addition, you have no leisure pursuits and you are unable to focus well enough to drive, dress, or do household chores"....

and was determined to be incompentent..also diagnosed as agorophobic in the recent past. 100% P&t

Does this meet the criteria for HB or A&A...and if so, why wasnt this inferred initially and what do I have to do next...thanks

[Chuck75]

A&A, SMC aside - - for the moment

"and was determined to be incompetent" Is of MAJOR, MAJOR concern, and very serious.

You should really go to the link below for detailed information, etc. as a start.

http://www.vawatchdo...pointments.html

The VA will probably sooner than later, start the VA fiduciary game. You will likely get a letter from the VA on the subject, possibly phone calls, and may see compensation payments suspended.

You will need to get the ducks in order ASAP, and make sure that any VA direct deposit account contains only the minimum needed to keep the account open.

It's usually best to have funds from the DD account taken out and placed in an account at another bank, broker, etc.

Sometimes banks go overboard in actions related to the VA fiduciary process, and improperly transfer funds that have nothing to do with the VA.

Joint accounts and so forth can easily get zeroed out by an improper bank transfer to a VA appointed fiduciary.

You should consider utilizing state law and a lawyer to have a court appoint you as a fiduciary, etc. to help forestall the VA's fiduciary shenanigans.

A ray of hope is that recent court rulings make the VA's fiduciary decisions, etc subject to appeal, and due process now applies.

Hello all, hope your enjoying your summer........Our Vso was supposed to look into getting A&A for my husband, but he is extremely busy and hasnt had a chance yet, so I need to go at this alone....evidence is as follows: Rating letter June 2011,..from the horses mouth:

"The examiner reports impairment to your cognitive function; thought process and content as well as your ability to maintain your minimum personal hygiene. It is the Va examin

ers observation that you have total occupational and social impairment in all areas of functioning. The Va examiner notes that you rely on your wife to guide you. You are unable to initiate activity; you stay at home in the den; and you cannot tolerate being in public places or interact with people. In addition, you have no leisure pursuits and you are unable to focus well enough to drive, dress, or do household chores"....

and was determined to be incompentent..also diagnosed as agorophobic in the recent past. 100% P&t

Does this meet the criteria for HB or A&A...and if so, why wasnt this inferred initially and what do I have to do next...thanks

Edited August 19, 2011 by Chuck75

[silke]

A&A, SMC aside - - for the moment

"and was determined to be incompetent" Is of MAJOR, MAJOR concern, and very serious.

I agree and thank you for your concern..About a month ago I set up a new account just for compensation and called the VA to have the DD changed....They told me that we wouldnt get a penny until the issue of competency and the appointment of a fiduciary has been made......I hired a lawyer experienced in VA matters and he wrote up the following SOC:

I understand that my doctor indicated that I am not competent to handle my financial affairs and I understand that you propose to rate me incompetent. i agree with this decision and would like to waive my due process rights as it pertains to my ability to handle my finances and request that you take this action at the earliest possible time. I understand that a determination of incompetency will prohibit me from purchasing, possessing, receiving or transporting a firearm or ammunition. If I knowingly violate any of these prohibitions, I may be fined, imprisoned, or both pursuant to the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act Pub L no 103-159 as implemented at 19 USC 924 a 2.

I further understand that if you decide that I am unable to handle my VA funds, I may apply to the regional office for the relief of prohibitions imposed by the brady act. Please appoint the below named individual as my agent...etc

This SOC was sent to the RO and to the office that sends out payment..dont remember where that is right now..strange letter, I thought, but the lawyer said it is in VA accepted language and things will move along a bit quicker.....We received our first payment on the first of august, but the retro is still being withheld and thats Ok for now.....havent heard a single word on this matter since from the VA but I was told it can take months for an agent to appear...the lawyer told me what to expect...bank statement, references, etc and its here waiting for them!.......hopefully this will be resolved without any further ado....thank you again

[Berta]

What lawyer would want a vet to state this:

"and would like to waive my due process rights as it pertains to my ability to handle my finances "

This lawyer's response is AWFUL(in my opinion) as I understand here (and could be wrong) you have a wife who could become the fiduciary.

"Please appoint the below named individual as my agent...etc" Is the spouse's name here?

The VA has been investigating ( in great part I believe due to Jim Strickland VA Watchdog)some of these outright crooks who have been picked as fiduciaries for veterans.

VA so far has taken little responsibility at all over the fiduciary fiasco except for when the Justice Department has gotten involved.

I posted a story here recently on some fiduciaries who were found guilty of defrauding vets.

I would love to know who the heck this lawyer is who is advising you to give up your due process rights!

Obviously they don't have a clue.

This idea is an insult to Doug Rosinski and Katrina Eagles -the lawyers who aggressively fought for the Freeman V Shinseki decision.

I hope others chime in here as maybe I am interpreting what the lawyer wanted to state to VA all wrong.I apologize in advance if I am getting this wrong.

Yes- the VA will withhold that retro until the incompetency issue is resolved.

It took a friend of mine many many long months to see his retro. It was almost 1/4 a million but they had to make sure the wife was competent. She has been a mental health specialist for 20 years.In his case it was in his best interests to have a fiduciary.

What I dont get is this- a vet can directly receive 30% or 50% SC for years and years for a MH disability and then suddenly when they succeed in a larger award-the VA thinks they suddenly became incompetent overnight.

I think most vets in this situation should fight these proposed incompetency issues.

[Philip Rogers]

I've gotta agree w/Berta, what lawyer would have there client waive all rights to due process, except maybe a public defender. I'd certainly never sign it. jmo

pr

Edited August 20, 2011 by Philip Rogers

[silke]

Berta..Im the wife and am wishing to be appointed as the fidicuary....We just wanted this done and over with, and the lawyer said this was the quickest

and easiest way to do that.