Questions From A Lamer

[lobo]

1- How much money can veteran have in bank and still draw benefits

2-Can a veteran own a home and draw benefits, I own half a home left to me in a special needs trust

from my mother's will

[Berta]

Hoppy - I kind of feel that most SOs don't have a clue on this stuff.

I think a lawyer would be better able to advise you Lobo-maybe the lawyer who set this trust up----

I heard of a vet who got a VA pension and then opened a business!With the pension retro!

He started to work in the business- his vet rep is fully aware of this and immediately strongly advised him of the fact that we cannot mislead or lie to the VA. It could be a federal offense.

I dont know what the results were on that.

You are doing all you can to do the right thing---I sure commend you.

I would think that this money for repairs etc would not be considered as income for VA purposes- then again- it would be better to have a lawyer determine that and then have some documentation if the VA ever questions this.

Best thing of all-----to do-----

Is there anyway at all that you might be able to get direct SC and get comp at least the same amount as or higher than the pension?

Then you could even win the lottery for a million bucks and VA could not question it.

[lobo]

Is there a service organation you would recommend as I can not afford lawyer

Edited December 10, 2006 by lobo

[Berta]

Are there any Legal Aid services near you?

I dont mean that Hoppy is wrong- and a vet rep or service officer might well know what to tell you-

but it might also be completely out of their expertise.

The complete pension criteria involves four classifications of different types of income:All of this info is in 38 CFR 3.271 (2006)

and M21-1 Part Iv, paragraph 16.22.

It might help to printout this info and then bring it to your vet rep to see how you fall into these categories-or maybe won't.

http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-...0.1.1.4.1.61.99 (possibly might help)

and the reg I mentioned:

http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-....1.1.4.1.62.100

The M21-1 regs are in:

http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:JzNw4X...=2&ie=UTF-8

[Hoppy]

Berta and lobo,

The problems I had were quite significant for several years. I lost most my NSC pension because the trustee was required to give me monthly cash payments of interest and dividends. Additionally, I could get discretionary principal when requested that exceeded the monthly cash payments. The additional discretionary principal would wipe out the rest of my NSC pension. My SO was a senior SO who had worked at the VA as a rater for 20 years. He did make suggestions to me as to how to deal with the discretionary principal. As a result of some battles between me and the trustee I did interact frequently with estate and trust attorneys. The trustee was withholding many $1000.00's of dollars from discretionary principal because it would cause me to lose a couple hundred a month from the NSC. At the same time the trustee was giving large sums of descritionary principal to my brothers that was coming from the same account and thus I was losing money. The trust and estate attorneys charged high rates and did not have a clue as to the VA's practices.

My suggestion is that lobo find a free legal service that is sometimes posted at the vet centers or hospitals. There is an office at the RO that is required to do the computations and make decisions on these matters. I talked at lengeth with these folks as well and they did give me some ways to have my living arraingment improved without losing more of my NSC pension. I cannot remember the name of the office.

[lobo]

Is there someone at the VA I can write to and tell whole story, then send copies of reciepts for work done or things bought, I know this is all a mess, I just don't want to lose my pension, do you know of who I may contact and thanks again Hoppy and Berta for everything

[lobo]

Hoppy and Berta: This is a copy of letter I sent RO in St Pete FL just now, I could have made it a 100 pages long but just wanted to be honest and let them know, Lord I don't need any more trouble, I just need them to tell me what to do, I guess if I had not had brain operation I could handle all this, but with that Mom and Clay, now the VA, man, it's like the Lord is putting cinder blocks on my sholders to see how many I can carry, excuse me sir, enough. Thanks again for all your help:

First I must say someone else is typing this as I can't. I recieve a VA pension and Aid and attendance for a Total and Permanent disability.

Please see this gets where it needs to go, I have no ideal, thank you.

First let me say this is as honest as I know how to be, am really still in shock over all this, so I'll tell you what happened.

On August 8, 2006 my brother Clayton C. Smith passed away. I was not told, I did not attend his funeral as I did not know he had passed.

9 days later my Mother passed away, then my older brother Calvin H. Smith who is also Personal Representive of Mother's will and Trustee of my Special Needs Trust told me Clay had passed too. He told Clay's wife not to tell me Clay had died. So when Calvin told me Mother had died, he then told me Clay, my brother had died too 9 days before, shock is all I can say, I loved both of them very much and the void will never be filled. How I made it through all that I don't know. Calvin told me he would go see lawyer about will by his self, I now know why and divide Moms bank assets between himself and me, I was not even paying attention as I had lost my Mom and brother in 9 days. I lived behind mother's house in a small travel tralior, so we put everything in my name, power, utilities, etc.

Calvin left one day to go to bank and close Moms account and came back and told me mother had 27,000 dollars in bank and I did not need any of it and he had debts to pay off so he wired all the money to his account in VA. Sounded funny to me but I was still in shock about Mom and Clay. I would find out later talking to others he was glad they both were dead and wondered while I was still breathing, less money for him while I was still alive, At the time he came back from bank and told me he sent money to Virgina, all I knew was he was all the family I had so I said nothing to him about money. At this time I knew nothing about him being happy about everyone passing to make him more money.

During the time he was here I put his name on my bank account in place of Mother's, at the time I thought I could trust him, I know better now. Had to close account to get his name off it and reopen another.

Talk about taking the money and running, 4 days after Mom died he left, I remmember comming in Mom's house to try and figure out what was happening. I tried not to think about Mom and Clay and looked around me at house, what a mess, I don't mean things were messy, just old. The house was built in 1958, Mom bought it in 1968. Nothing has been done to house except it has new rolled roof 3 years ago. It's like I never saw it since my brain operation or I was not paying attention to how bad a shape it was in since I was in bad shape too and Mother never said anything. The first time I took a shower the water was all brown or rusty or something, 3 quarters of the windows had nothing on them, covering them, the bedrooms (2) had sheets for curtains. Well I knew I was in a mess as I can hardly walk, hardly talk, hardly see, memory loss alot, panic attacks all the time, don't dream, when I sleep it's just black, no balance, no death perception, well the list goes on and on.

To make a long story short, after I told my older brother Calvin I would write his boss and tell him what Calvin had done concerning Mom's bank account money, he, as at that time he was still on my bank account, put 13,000 dollars in my bank accont and then E-mailed me and told me.

I was afraid he would have second thoughts and withdrew the money he sent, in the long run I guess that was smart as he wired himself 500.00 out of my account before I had his name removed from account.

So he's not family to me either, I have none now, am single, no kids, no relatives.

I am very sorry to the VA as this all happened so quickly plus the brain operation, well it's a mess, but please I do not want to lose my VA pension as that is all I have, every penny that was spent was necessary. To show how dum I am about all this I had no ideal I had done anything wrong until I read on some VA Forums, then I knew I should get in touch with you.

The will is in probate now, My mothers name is J Smith, retired from Civil Service, died in Panama City, FL (Bay County) on 17 August 2006.

I have copy of will, some receipts for:

1-computer to automattically have all my bills deducted directly from bank account you put pension check in.

Receipt for waters pipes inside and out.

Receipt for carpet and blinds, the cheapest Lowes had.

Receipt for eyeglasses and examination, I did not know the VA covered this but I would have had to pay anyway as my sister in law is my caregiver and she is in her 70's and can not see to at night to drive to Montgomery ALA to the nearest Veterans Hospital, have a backup caregiver too, one of Mom's friends.

Receipt for consulting with lawyer over will.

There are more but I don't remmember where they are at.

I do not want to do anything more to house than I have to as will says upon my death it will go to my brother Calvin. I do not want to do anything that would be beneficial to him.

There is a old 1991 car of Mom's under carport, I can't drive but lawyer who made will said it is in my trust that half of it is mine and half Calvins, I am not getting rid of it as I want house to look lived in.

The house is going to have to have all new windows and screens. The windows in here now are 50 years old, do not roll out, most are nailed shut and cracked, air comes in around all of them, I know this is going to cost alot, should I pay for it out of mon

Edited December 11, 2006 by lobo