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Question About Dependency Claim

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Wjason777

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I originally filled for a dependency claim on paper in 04/2012 When I first got married for my wife and 2 step children. I called back in 12/2012 to check the status of the claim and I was informed that they only thing that is missing was the city and state of where my wife was Devoriced from her previous marriage, I provide that information on the phone to the Va. My claim as of right now is still pending. Last month(11/2014) I filed online through ebenefits and was finally granted the increase this month.

My question to you guys is, Since I originally filled on paper bAck 04/2012. Do I rate back pay from then?

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You should have been paid back to 2012 when first filed it but VA does funny stuff. Unless you still have a copy of the letter you sent along with signature required and confirmation received from the post office. Or a letter stating VA received it and working on it, etc.If don't have proof request a copy of your c-file, maybe it is in there?

Actually sort of thing happened to me. I filed back in 2010 to remove my ex wife but add my son. I assumed it was a wash. Never heard anything about it and noticed my pay went down just alittle bit. Come July 2014 I went to add my new wife and my other kids (stepchildren) and my ex-wife was still on!!! I ended up owing over payment for 4 years. They stated if I had proof of mailing it in then I wouldn't owe over-payment it would have been their error.

If you don't have proof then nothing at all to stand on. I did order my c-file though and low and behold I saw the letter I sent in asking them to remove my ex-wife and the VA letter with the letter explaining what they did, etc. So I'm in the process of having my over-payment sent back to me because it was proof I sent it in. I got lucky to find that letter!!!!

I learned the hard way.By it actually happening to me and all the great people on this site that recommend the same of keeping all records and receipts. Always keep records of what you sent. If threw ebenefits a screen shot of the successful submission of evidence, if mailing then the signature required and confirmation of delivery from post office

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saints13 is absolutely right. You have to assume that everything you send the VA has a high probability of being lost, shredded or placed in another veteran's file.

Make copies of everything you send the VA and only submit documents to the VA in person and have your file copies of the documents submitted to the RO date stamped by the RO receptionist. This is the only way to absolutely prove they received the documents. You can send documents to the VA via certified mail hand receipt requested and you will receive a signed green card back showing the VA received something from you. However, you can not prove what you sent by certified mail to the RO unless you obtain your c-file and find the documents in the file. There is no guarantee you will find the documents in your file. Although, it may be time consuming, you would still be better off submitting all documents to the RO in person as I indicated above. JMO

Good luck to you and thank you for your service.

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What is a RO and where is he located ?

Also, I know they have it because when I log onto ebenefits it's saying that the dependency claim from 04/2012 is still open and pending.

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An RO is your VA regional office. Your RO should be the VA office where you originally submitted your claim. They are usually located in the large cities in your state. Some states have one RO and other states have more.

The info on ebenefits is usually old and not reliable. Send an inquiry to the VA through IRIS and ask about the status of your dependency claim. You can also call the VA 800 number. However, IRIS and the 800 number can't always answer your questions or provide the info you need. If this doesn't work, you can send an e-mail to the Secretary of the VA.

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Wjason777,

The VA Secretary's e-mail address is: Robert.A.McDonald@va.gov

Make sure you put a period before and after his middle initial. So far, Bob McDonald has a good record of replying to his e-mails and getting quick replies to veteran's questions.

Good luck.

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I called the Ga Depart of Vet Service and spoke to the guy that's over my case. He's saying that since I didn't provided all the information on the dependency claim back in 04/2012 that that one doesn't count even though I called VA and gave the them the missing info.

That didn't sound right to me!

So I called the VA 800 number and was able to get in touch with someone ( Lucky Me). They said that once my dependency claim from 2012 finally goes through they would see that I'm already getting paid for dependence and it would automatically go to retro pay. Due to the backlog of the VA it is what's taking so long.

I'm confused now

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