VBMS vs. Ebenefits is their a timeline when ebenefits is updated?

[JKWilliamsSr]

I have a rather interesting situation maybe someone can shed a little insight on.    To be honest it seems baffling to me.   Monday my attorney told me that according to VBMS I am at 100% with an effective date of 2019.   I believe this happened sometime last week.   What prompted the email is according to my attorney the VA sent him a letter because they have a problem with our contigency agreement.  I went back and read the agreement.  It is a pretty straight forward agreement.  No tricky sentences getting me to agree to anything out of the ordinary.   The agreement is for 20% of backpay received.   I am very grateful for my attorney.  He took me from 50% to 80% to 100% and has earned every cent.  I have been fighting the uphill battle since 2009 and am not close to the finish line. 

I am probably making an assumption but my guess is the VA does not plan on paying my attorney from the backpay. I have no idea what the issue is with the agreement.  My attorney did say I should be getting a letter in the mail from the VA about this and I should see a deposit from the VA any day now.    He did say it would be easier to invoice me after my deposit for the 20% and I am perfectly fine with that.  My entire expectation was 20% of all backpay and I knew this going in.   What is confusing to me is why does the VA have an issue now?  When I went from 50% to 80% the paid my attorney directly.  Why not now?

But I digress....here is my question.

VBMS shows a rating with an effective date.  What could be holding up the update on ebenefits?   Would the fact that this was based off an appeal from the BVA? My guess is someone is looking at the issue of backpay because a decision was made on attorney fees.  Yet as I type this there is no update on Ebenefits and my appeal is closed.

[brokensoldier244th]

Benefits is not VBMS, Its set to close completely in March last I knew, which was a month ago that I checked. Take little that you see of it to be up to date. Pretty much everything has moved to VA.gov. 

 

As for the rest, that's not a function that VSRs or raters do. That's part of fiduciary, so without seeing the letter who knows? Right now you just have a generalization off what he said the letter said. Here is the most current on fee agreements

 

https://www.knowva.ebenefits.va.gov/system/templates/selfservice/va_ssnew/help/customer/locale/en-US/portal/554400000001018/content/554400000181477/M21-1,-Part-I,-Subpart-i,-Chapter-2,-Section-C---Introduction-to-Attorney-Fees

 

 

[broncovet]

ebenefits/va.gov have a "notorious reputation" for being not up to date, in accurate, incomplete, or just plain wrong.  

Im not sure this will be fixed any time soon.  However, "one part" of ebennies is normally accurate:

"The letters section".  

The VA does not like Veterans running around with a letter that says they are 100 percent P and T, "Unless" that is, in fact, true.  

Dont count on the effective date for ebenefits.  

We really dont know the issue with the fee agreement, or some glitch between the fee, your attorney, yourself and VA.  It sounds like you are doing the right thing.  

When/if the retro arrives, and is safely in your bank, you can "write the attorney a check" for retro on the disability issues agreed to by you and the attorney.  

On occassion, an attorney may well agree to represent you on "issue" (_________), ONLY, and not represent you on other issues.  This has happened to me.  

Example:  You have an appeal going on for back pain.  Later, you also apply for PTSD to the VARO, which has not even been adjuticated yet.  

Attorney's must have "a denial letter" before they can represent you.  So, the attorney may not be representing you with PTSD, you applied for that while your other issues were in a long appeal line.  Its possible, in that long wait, your PTSD could be awarded.  In this example, you would not owe the attorney 20 percent of your PTSD award, only on the issues which he was appealing for you.  

    So, when you write the attorney a check, you can//should parse out, any issues he was not involved with, and you should be able to keep 100 percent of THAT portion.  

   Importantly, it may be possible or even likely that some part of your attorney fees have been paid by EAJA.  This is especially true if you had a remand from CAVC, and you eventually win benefits based on that remand.  

    The attorney is not allowed to "double dip", and collect money from you and also eaja on the same benefits.  

    Example:  I got a remand at CAVC.  My attorney applied for, and got paid, $6000 from EAJA, at no cost to me.  

    Upon remand, the board awarded benefits.  The attorney had to deduct the $6000 already paid by eaja from his fee, and I wound up paying just $1000.  But I would have owed the attorney $7000, but he already got 6000 from eaja.  

    Another attorney represented me "exclusively" at the CAVC, and "NOT" before the Board.  (I know why he does this, a cavc decision can be complete in six months, while board decisions sometimes take years and years, or even decades, and he does not exactly like waiting for decades for his payment.  You may not want to work today, and then maybe get paid 10 years later, either.). For this reason my attorney chose to "not" represent Veterans at the BOARD, but instead limited his representation "TO THE CAVC/FEDERAL CIRCUIT' only.  It was great, as I eventually won at the board, after cavc remand and following my attorneys advice and getting an IMO, so I paid zero attorney fees, and eaja paid them all.  

    Bottom line, when you get your retro, if there was no deduction taken for attorney fees, then discuss your issues in detail, and work out a payment that suits you and him, consistent with your fee agreement.  

[brokensoldier244th]

Ebenefits is not going to be fixed. It is going away. Completely. Last date I heard for sunset was March 22nd. Everything is supposed to be at VA.gov and the only few remaining things at Ebenefits that DO work are only because some veterans have their claims still proceeding that were originally filed under Ebenefits and it hasn't been moved yet. 

[blahsaysme2u]

is the list of disabilities and your rating going to move? or do you know. i like having that list. be nice if the EED date for P&T could/would be added if you can take suggestions

[brokensoldier244th]

The whole page is going away. It's all moving in some form or another. 

[blahsaysme2u]

5 minutes ago, brokensoldier244th said:

The whole page is going away. It's all moving in some form or another. 

no i get that...just hoping they dont get rid of it like they did documents section of bennies...