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How to avoid being saddled with a Fiduciary agent.

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rwskitch

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 I'd like to 'pick everyone's brain' on what I can do to cover my arse due to my last C & P examiners 'no' remark concerning 'the veteran not being able to manage his/hers financial affairs,' in the C & P's competency section…! I've seen my VA shrink since then and followed 'Pete992's' advice and asked him to make a note in my Progress report, he denied and suggested that I see the VA's Mental Health Social Worker instead and get an evaluation from him. Can I get some input on whether this would be a good move to keep my retro $ in my pocket and one step towards avoiding the VARO's recent trend to saddle us veterans with some phone call ignoring Fiduciary…?

 

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At the present time how do you manage your funds? Do you have any assistance with paying your bills?  You can have a social worker/ mental health psychiatrist/ psychologist/ or any treating doctor note that you manage your own funds but it is best to get it from the mental health folks.  IMHO, unless you get a 100% mental health rating you should not worry about VA trying to assign you a fiduciary.

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Thanks for the reply pete992, I've been paying my own bills since I turned 18, many moons ago and paid a house off and numerous vehicles with the help of God and at the age of 60 some C & P examiner puts my competency into question. The thing is that I have 1 PTSD claim remanded back to the RO last Feb. - 8 yrs of retro and 1 HCV claim ready to be brought out of limbo at the RO for a DRO de novo review - 5 yrs old, before God forbid, they're sent to the BVA, I pray there decided in my favor and there some retro with the two claims in which triggered the 'incompetency'/automatic check on the mental health DBQ's nowadays as I've been reading here on Had it.com. I've recently received a secured credit card, after placing $300 into another acct. to cover the credit card's limit so that I'm no longer considered a 'shadow' w/the credit bureau, to establish some kind of credit history. Would making an appt. w/the mental health social worker and showing up be a positive step to being considered 'competent...?'

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  • Content Curator/HadIt.com Elder

P S. If your treating doctor refuse to help you, you might want to switch doctors

More good advice from Pete. This is actually part of the VA Patient Bill of Rights. You have the right to choose you provider. Docs are human, too. Some are great and some are jerks. The jerks really do not belong in the VA system. Find a provider who you are comfortable with.

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It took me 8 to 10 years just to get comfortable with this one Vync, I've thought of this but I have the 'trust' issues and starting at square one could be timely in building the trust again, also would 'changing horses mid race' be a good thing, this shrink pegged me PTSD years ago and hit the nail on the head, while the others missed by stating I was manic, then bipolar, and for over 10 years now PTSD.

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Thanks for the reply pete992, I've been paying my own bills since I turned 18, many moons ago and paid a house off and numerous vehicles with the help of God and at the age of 60 some C & P examiner puts my competency into question. The thing is that I have 1 PTSD claim remanded back to the RO last Feb. - 8 yrs of retro and 1 HCV claim ready to be brought out of limbo at the RO for a DRO de novo review - 5 yrs old, before God forbid, they're sent to the BVA, I pray there decided in my favor and there some retro with the two claims in which triggered the 'incompetency'/automatic check on the mental health DBQ's nowadays as I've been reading here on Had it.com. I've recently received a secured credit card, after placing $300 into another acct. to cover the credit card's limit so that I'm no longer considered a 'shadow' w/the credit bureau, to establish some kind of credit history. Would making an appt. w/the mental health social worker and showing up be a positive step to being considered 'competent...?'

I don't know if the information I share below will help, but it depends on the circumstances. If someone has a lot of trouble making ends meet with limited funds, a fiduciary can be a good thing. However, if a provider questions judgement for the wrong reasons, like Pete says, perhaps someone else might be able to help. It never hurts to get a second opinion!

There are different levels of financial accountability and a fiduciary might or might not be a benefit. 

When my wife was going to college for her RN degree, she was required to go to an "insert name here"  anonymous meeting and ask some generic questions. She chose "gamblers anonymous" and it was a real eye opener. It was right outside a casino on an Indian reservation near Montgomery. Some folks had a really bad time and ended up in dire straits. We had set aside $50 to use in the casino after the meeting, but instead we chose to stop going altogether and went to a restaurant on the way home and gave the awesome waitress a really good tip.

Having no credit history is not a totally bad thing, unless you have a reason to borrow, rent, look for a job, etc... Heck, even some cell phone providers might do a credit check if you plan to sign up and not buy your phone outright. Not being on the credit grid is not the end of the world. Just look at Dave Ramsey, the financial talk show guy on the radio. I went to his Financial Peace University show about 7 years ago and it changed my life. He calls a credit score an "I love debt score", but credit is what you make of it. I know some folks who are better at saving than I ever was. They keep their credit rating alive in a similar manner as you mention. Some they charge everything and pay it all off at the end of each month, which requires a lot of discipline. Others might save up for something really nice, like furniture or a vehicle, and then setup a separate account in a bank. They get a loan to purchase the item and have the account setup to pay automatically every month. They never miss a payment.

There's one other credit situation - that of cosigners. In one of my former jobs in the military, I logged information into computers about soldiers and civilians which included credit scores. They included scores for spouses or others on accounts. Sometimes spouses thought marrying an officer or high ranking civilian was the ticket to high class glory. Unfortunately, sometimes their income earner had no idea about their lavish spending or the consequences.

I only wished that I had been taught to budget, plan ahead, save, and give, back when I was a teenager instead of recently.

 

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