There are over 26 million veterans living in the United States today. More than 300,000 of these veterans live in Alabama, and almost 45,000 in the Huntsville area. Including the dependants and family members of veterans who may also qualify, 1 in every 4 Americans have the potential to receive VA benefits.
The U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs, formerly known as the Veterans Association, is a government organization dedicated to serving these veterans and their dependants. The VA has been actively growing and changing since the first U.S. Congress passed legislation for veterans in 1789. In 1930 Congress formally created the V.A., and with approximately 278,565 employees the VA is now the second largest government agency (behind the Department of Defense).
The VA has extensive programs designed to help disabled veterans and their dependants. Veteran’s benefits fall under two main categories: Service Connected Disabilities and Non-Service Connected Disabilities. These two categories cover a wide variety of qualifications and benefits including monthly compensation checks, monthly pension plans, federal tax exemptions, Aid and Attendance, Death Indemnity Compensation (for spouse or children of veteran), and health care (including Medicaid assistance). Click here for both a list of common misconceptions about these benefits, and a list of common filing mistakes made by veterans.
The Accredited Alabama VA benefits Lawyers here at Martinson and Beason specialize in retrieving Monthly Pension Benefits (MPB) and Aid and Attendance Benefits (AAB) for veterans who need it. MPBs and AABs can assist veterans and their dependants with the costs associated with nursing homes, assisted living facilities, mortgages, rent, groceries, and other expenses of daily living. Our Alabama VA Accredited attorneys also have the experience, knowledge, and background in Estate Planning to assist veterans in properly distributing their assets (bank accounts, real property, liquid assets, etc.) to help them qualify for these benefits.
To handle cases before The Veterans Administration, an attorney must be accredited with the VA. Doug Martinson II is the leading VA Accredited attorneys at Martinson and Beason. They specialize in Elder Law, Probate, Corporate Law, and Estate Planning.
Some of the basic qualifications for Monthly Pension Benefits and Aid and Attendance Benefits are as follows:
If you are a veteran, dependent of a veteran, or simply a loved one who cares about a veteran, know that the Alabama V.A. Accredited lawyers here at Martinson and Beason are ready to help. Feel free to take the time to look at the other links provided in this article, which detail specific qualifications and provide you with more information that may help.
Other organizations and sites that may assist you are: Still Serving Veterans (SSV- a Huntsville/RSA community based organization), Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), VA Facilities, and VA Offices. All information regarding the VA can be found in U.S. Code 38 and CFR 38.
“With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds;to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan– to do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.”
-Abraham Lincoln
Second Inaugural Address 1865