How long after you file will I be awarded the pension?
Unfortunately, we do not know. However, we have seen pension awarded in eight days, two weeks, one month, three months and ten months. We have no control over the award time from the VA. Our job is to do the necessary legal work and submit the application correctly to the VA.
What happens if my spouse and I are awarded pension and one of us passes away? Does the pension stop?
If the spouse (who did not serve in the armed forces), passes away, the veteran family should notify the VA of the death and send a copy of the death certificate. The VA will adjust the pension amount applicable to a single veteran. If the veteran passed away, the benefits will stop completely. The surviving spouse will have to file a new application, obtain a new doctor’s evaluation and updated financials to receive surviving spouse benefits.
My mother was married to my father for 35 years. He passed away. She remarried another person and stayed married to him for three years. Is she eligible for pension as a surviving spouse under my father?
No, she is not. The minute she remarried, she forfeited her surviving spouse eligibility under your father. If her second husband was a qualified veteran and if she was married to him for at least 12 months, she would qualify for pension under him if he met all the other VA requirements for pension.
My parents were married for 25 years and divorced. My mother never remarried. Is she eligible for pension under my father?
No. She is not eligible. Her eligibility stopped when they divorced.
My sister was my parents’ caregiver and was named in the caregiver agreement. Her circumstances have changed. I will now be her caregiver. We don’t want their pension to stop. What do I need to do?
A new caregiver agreement must be created naming you as the caregiver of record. A new caregiver bank account should be established in your name, or your name can be added to the existing account. You will need to submit new documentation to the VA. But the change in caregiver should not impact the amount of the VA pension received.
I was told you cannot charge for doing the pension application for me.
We don’t charge for the application. We charge for the legal work necessary to qualify a person for VA pension.
