Should I Appeal My P&t Effective Date

[parforever]

I was recently revaluated and the VA said there is no change and awarded me P&T with Dependent Education Assistance (Chapter 35). Not one of my 18 conditions changed in percentage and are all exactly the same as my original claim upon retirement in late 2007. The effective date of being Permanent and Total is July 15. My question is since all my conditions are exactly the same as when I retired is it possible I could win an appeal to get the P&T established in 2007 vs 2015. For obvious reasons I'm asking as I have children who have a total of 7 college years behind them starting in 2010 to current. My children still have 6 years of college ahead between them so I'm very grateful, but if I won an appeal that would mean one of children who graduated would get 4 years worth of benefits. My reasoning is the fact I was in the same condition today that I was in 2007 and should have been P&T then. Any guidance is much appreciated.

[pwrslm]

Have your ratings been reviewed before? Is there any reason that they could have suspected that any of the conditions could improve?

"VA establishes the rating as permanent when there is little chance that the condition will improve. VA makes a lot of mistakes when establishing the permanence of a rating. It's up to you to know what to do...nobody will do this for you."

Edited August 2, 2015 by pwrslm

[parforever]

Nope, this was the first time they have reviewed my conditions. I have had plenty of self scheduled appointments since my initial rating in 2007 but not until this month have they reviewed any of my conditions. Hence the reason I was wondering if I can appeal the P&T since my conditions haven't changed since the initial rating.

[lotzaspotz]

You can appeal anything if you disagree with the decision. It would help if you could get an independent medical opinion that states the information in your medical records as they stood in 2007 should have reflected the fact that your condition would not improve, and that the raters at that time should have recognized that fact from your C&P examination.

If the VA decided your disabilities had a chance of improving, then they would not consider you permanent and total. They evidently thought so at the time. Then again, P&T status is sometimes awarded only after a veteran asks for it, but in other cases, the VA decides it without being asked.

This might be the case, in partcular, if you were medically retired. If you retired based on time served, I think it might be more of a challenge to argue you were P & T right from the start.

Edited August 2, 2015 by lotzaspotz

[broncovet]

Go over your medical records. See if your doc reports mentions anything about your condition stabilizing.

Generally, after 5 years of no change, your condition is considered permanent. The regulations for reductions for 5 years and P and T are the same. So, it would follow that if you were diagnosed with condition A with symptoms B, C, and D, and you had the same symptoms 5 years later, your condition would be permanent.

If you meet the criteria I suggested, then you could/should appeal the effective date for P and T and Chapter 35. Expect the VA to fight you on this.

Remember, too, you kids would have to meet the VA education criteria retractively. Its not enough to get Chapter 35 benefits just by showing up for classes.

First, they would have to be full time. And, the only classes that would "count" would be the classes completed that work toward degree completion. If your kids declared a degree in "psychology", those classes in economics, Auto repair, American Sign language, Weight training, or other classes unrelated/not required for that degree, could easily drop them below full time. You should check the rules on Ch. 35..beleive me, they are no walk in the park. They are gonna have to document that they completed classes that worked toward the declared degree, uninterrupted, with the VA's minimum required GPA or above. Further, there are now "gaps" the Va wont pay for, such as if they dont attend college in the summer. Also, if they dont have classes for 3 weeks for spring break..guess what..they dont get paid for those.

Im just telling you all this stuff before you take on a project that you may not be able to finish. If you dont meet just "one" of the VA's many, many rules EXACTLY, they dont pay. Even when you do meet all the rules, exactly, expect the VA to come up with new Krap to try to deny.

My son went to college under Chapter 35..and they treated him just like other Veterans...delaying him for long periods, losing or shredding paperwork, and even making up stuff to deny...just like they do to us.

Years ago, I went to college under the "GI bill", and it was not 1/10th the hassle it is now. Your college sent stuff you were enrolled in college, you applied, and you got your monthly check. If you dropped below 12 credit hours, it probably took the VA 3 years to figure it out. There was no such thing as "acceptable courses" or working toward your degree. You got paid in the "GAPS" between fall and winter quarters, even if that meant you attended "0" classes that month. You did have to "actually attend" and pass most/all of the classes, or you would be dropped, when VA figured it out, which would be probably 2-3 years. You now have to be certified every quarter, by the college and VA, dont get paid for gaps, dont get paid for classes you dropped, ...whew...the list is much, much longer even than this.

Edited August 2, 2015 by broncovet

[broncovet]

Oh, I forgot. The VA will likely "hit" you, because you probably got dependent compensation. You can not get dependent compensation for a kid the VA is paying for under chapter 35. So, if they do give that kid retro active college, expect them to "take back" any dependent compensation they paid for that period, so your compensation will be "lowered" in the future to pay that all back, if they get that retro.

In other words, if you got retro back to 2007 for 3 "college age" kids, here is probably what would happen.

The "college age" dependent benefit is currently 260.13 per month, per child, since you have to be 100% to get Ch. 35. You may not have realized it, but you got (or should have gotten) about 260 per month times 12 months per year, times 8 years, or about 25,000 or so in dependent compensation for each child. (Its actually less than that, because 260 per month is now, and it was less last year, and less the year before, because of COLA) Expect VA to "recoup" all that 25k or so, per child..from YOUR compensation. Crazily, it could cost you MORE than your child gets. You see, the rules for dependent compensation for a child over 18 are much less strict, than for your kid to get Chapter 35. If your college kid enrolls in the fall, winter and spring quarters, I think you still get dependent compensation for college age kids, even through the summer, while they dont get paid for ch 35 during that period.

[broncovet]

Based on what I posted above, my son and I elected NOT to appeal the effective date of his chapter 35. There really is no guarntee that your son would get more money in retro, than what would be "taken back" from the dependent compensation from you. When you start figuring out the "gaps", the difference between what he gets and what you get for him dependent compensation for a "college AGE" child, that gap narrows. Remember, this is "college age" dependent compensation, not just while he or she is attending classes. You would have to figure it out for you/your kids circumstances to know if it this appeal, if successful would result in more money or not.