1 mile west of the Chicago Premium Outlet Mall (800) 810 3100
By Estate Planning Attorney Rick Law of The Estate Planning Center at Law Elder Law in Aurora, IL, just off I-88 Want to apply for much needed Veterans benefits? Here are the items you’ll need if you are a veteran, veteran and spouse, or widow or widower of a veteran. Veteran only:
  • DD-214 or discharge papers
  • Annual Social Security Award letter received in January OR other documentation to verify your income
  • A printout from your pharmacy of three months of expenses
  • Copies of all your latest financial statements
Veteran and spouse:  All of the above for you and your spouse, PLUS
  • Marriage certificate
  • Death certificate or divorce decree if either spouse was previously married
Widow or Widower of a veteran:
  • The veteran’s DD-214 or discharge papers
  • Annual Social Security Award letter received in January AND other documentation to verify your income
  • A printout from your pharmacy of three months of expenses
  • Marriage certificate
  • Veteran’s death certificate
  • Death certificate or divorce decree related to any previous marriages of either you or the veteran
  • Copies of all your latest financial statements
Additional forms that will need to be filled out and filed with the claim for benefits:
  • Statement of Attending Physician
  • VA Form 21-0779 – Nursing Home Information
  • Report OR Care Provider Report
  • Authorizations and Consent to Release Information to the VA for each physician of the veteran or spouse
  • Statement Regarding Claimant’s IRA
  • VA Form 8416 Medical Expense Report
If the veteran you love could use some extra money to help pay for the cost of in-home, nursing home, or assisted living care, give our office a call at 800-310-3100 or 630-585-5200.  Your first consultation is absolutely free.  We’ll let you know what steps you need to take, right now, to protect yourself and your family.  Call now! Sincerely, Rick L. Law, Attorney, Estate Planner for Retirees Rick was named the #1 Illinois elder law estate planning attorney by Leading Lawyer Magazine. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, AARP Magazine, TheStreet.com, and numerous newspapers and articles. Rick is the lead attorney for Law Elder Law, LLP, focusing in Estate Planning, Guardianship, and Nursing Home Solutions. His goal is to give retirees an informed edge when it comes to dealing with an uncertain future.  Get flexible retirement strategies that work during good times and bad, plus information on how you can save your home and assets from being used to pay for long term care.  
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By Rick Law of Law Elder Law in West Suburban Aurora, IL Many people think the dates for “periods of war” are much narrower than they actually are. Since part of the requirements for the Aid and Attendance benefit for Veterans over age 65 require that you or your veteran spouse served 90 days of active service, at least one day of which was during a period of war, this is an important item to note. Take a look below to see if your service dates fit! Official Dates for Periods of War:
  • Mexican Border: May 9, 1916 to April 5, 1917
  • World War I: April 6, 1917 to November 11, 1918 / April 1, 1920 (if served in Russia)
  • World War II: December 7, 1941 to December 31, 1946
  • Korean War: June 27, 1950 to January 31, 1955
  • Vietnam War: August 5, 1964 to May 7, 1975 / February 28, 1961 (if served in Vietnam)
  • Persian Gulf War: August 2, 1990 to [date not yet determined]
Other Groups Who Qualify: In addition to active duty vets from the armed services, these little-known groups also meet the active duty qualification for VA benefits. If you belong to any of these groups and received a discharge by the Secretary of Defense, your service meets the active duty service requirement for benefits:
  • Recipients of the Medal of Honor
  • Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASPs)
  • WWI Signal Corps Female Telephone Operators Unit
  • WWI Engineer Field Clerks
  • Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC)
  • Female clerical employees of the Quartermaster Corps serving with the American Expeditionary Forces in WWI
  • Civilian employees of Pacific naval air bases who actively participated in defense of Wake Island during WWII
  • Reconstruction aides and dietitians of WWI
  • Male civilian ferry pilots
  • Wake Island defenders from Guam
  • Civilian personnel assigned to OSS secret intelligence
  • Guam Combat Patrol
  • Quartermaster Corps members of the Keswick crew on Corregidor during WWII
  • U.S. civilians who participated in the defense of Bataan
  • U.S. merchant seamen who served on block ships in support of Operation Mulberry in the WWII invasion of Normandy
  • American merchant marines in oceangoing service during WWII
  • Civilian Navy IFF radar technicians who served in combat areas of the Pacific during WWI
  • U.S. civilians of the American Field Service who served overseas under U.S. armies and U.S. army groups in WWII
  • U.S. civilian employees of American Airlines who served overseas in contract with the Air Transport Command between 12/14/41 and 8/14/45
  • Civilian crewmen of certain U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey vessels between 12/7/41 and 8/15/45
  • Members of the American Volunteer Group (Flying Tigers) who served between 12/7/41 and 8/14/45
  • U.S. civilian flight crew and aviation ground support of TWA who served overseas between 12/14/41 and 8/14/45
  • U.S. civilian flight crew and aviation ground support of Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corp. who served overseas between 12/14/41 and 8/14/45
  • Honorably discharged members of the American Volunteer Guard, Eritrea Service Command, between 6/21/42 and 3/31/43
  • U.S. civilian flight crew and aviation ground support of Northwest Airlines who served overseas between 12/14/41 and 8/14/45
  • U.S. civilian female employees of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps who served in the defense of Bataan and Corregidor from 1/2/42 to 2/3/45
  • U.S. civilian flight crew and aviation ground support of Braniff Airways who served overseas in the North Atlantic between 2/26/42 to 8/14/45
  • Chamorro and Carolina former native police who received military training in the Donnal area of central Saipan and were placed under command of Lt. Casino of the 6th Provisional Military Police Battalion to accompany U.S. Marines on active, combat patrol from 8/19/45 to 9/2/45
  • The operational Analysis Group of the Office of Scientific Research and Development, Office of Emergency Management, which served overseas with the U.S. Army Air Corps from 12/7/41 through 8/15/45
  • Honorably discharged members of the Alaska Territorial Guard during WWII
If the veteran you love could use some extra money to help pay for the cost of in-home, nursing home, or assisted living care, give our office a call at 800-310-3100 or 630-585-5200. Your first consultation is absolutely free. We’ll let you know what steps you need to take, right now, to protect yourself and your family. Call now. Sincerely, Rick L. Law, Attorney, Estate Planner for Retirees. Rick was named the #1 Illinois elder law estate planning attorney by Leading Lawyer Magazine. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, AARP Magazine, TheStreet.com, and numerous newspapers and articles. Rick is the lead attorney for Law Elder Law, LLP, focusing in Estate Planning, Guardianship, and Nursing Home Solutions. His goal is to give retirees an informed edge when it comes to dealing with an uncertain future. Get flexible retirement strategies that work during good times and bad, plus information on how you can save your home and assets from being used to pay for long term care.
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An Introductory Tour of the  Special Monthly Pension available for Wartime Veterans And/Or Survivor Spouses who are Age 65 Or Older OR Permanently and Totally Disabled. Most people think of veterans’ benefits as being only for servicemen and women who were wounded or disabled while serving in the armed forces. By and large, that is true. But we have learned about substantial benefits that may be available to wartime veterans who are now senior citizens and facing the burden of long term care due to a host of diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, MS, Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and many others. In fact, the Veterans Administration estimates that millions of wartime veterans and their spouses may be eligible for Special Monthly Pension benefits and are not even aware of it! Wartime veterans or their surviving spouses become eligible for the Special Monthly Pension benefit when they are over 65 years old, are permanently disabled and unable to work, are homebound, or need the regular aid and attendance of another—whether at home, in assisted/ supportive living, or in a nursing home. The program is based on actual financial need for assistance, so there are income and asset limitations. Unfortunately, there is widespread misunderstanding regarding how to determine qualification for this important benefit. It is the goal of this Nuts and Bolts Guide to give you a start in understanding the ins, outs, ups and downs of the VA benefit maze commonly referred to as “Aid and Attendance.” Even though finding your way through the maze can be extremely difficult, it is worth the effort to assist wartime veterans and their surviving spouses during times of great need. The maximum benefit available can provide significant help in paying for long term care costs, either for the homebound and/or nursing home veteran/surviving spouse. There are only three types of people who are authorized to provide a veteran with assistance filing a claim for veterans’ benefits: 1. An attorney licensed to practice law in your state 2. A veterans service organization such as VFW, American Legion, Amvets, etc. 3. A state or county official of the Dept. of Veterans Affairs in your state Unfortunately, there are very few attorneys who have knowledge in this particular area because it is illegal to charge a veteran a legal fee for providing assistance in filing a claim for benefits. Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) are often hard-pressed to have sufficient resources to assist multiple generations of veterans, so it is sometimes difficult for a veteran or his/her surviving spouse to get help in filing a claim. We strongly recommend that you contact an elder law attorney such as those at Law Elder Law to determine if you qualify. An elder law attorney can assist you and your family by explaining many difficult-to-understand things about long term care. Qualification for a VA benefit is only one of several concerns that must be considered. As you struggle to provide dignified long term care for a wartime veteran and/or surviving spouse, we can help you understand the options. We are your advocates and we want to help you stretch your hard-earned dollars. VA benefits are only one part of the puzzle. We will hold your hand and guide you every step of the way as we consider all of your family’s resources and needs. Sincerely, Rick L. Law, Attorney and Estate Planner for Retirees. Rick was named the #1 Illinois elder law estate planning attorney by Leading Lawyer Magazine. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, AARP Magazine, TheStreet.com, and numerous newspapers and articles. Rick is the lead attorney for Law Elder Law, LLP, focusing in Estate Planning, Guardianship, and Nursing Home Solutions. His goal is to give retirees an informed edge when it comes to dealing with an uncertain future.  Get flexible retirement strategies that work during good times and bad, plus information on how you can save your home and assets from being used to pay for long term care.  Appointments available in Chicago, Aurora, Oak Brook, Schaumburg, and Joliet.  Call 800-310-3100 for your free consultation now!
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When my friend came to me in need of help with veteran’s benefits, I realized how little I knew about the complicated VA benefit process.  What a horrible feeling, not being able to help someone I care about when they needed me most.  What’s worse, I didn’t know any lawyer who knew enough about veteran’s benefits to give my friend the help she needed.  Telling my friend I couldn’t help was not an option. I had to find the answers that would help my loved one. So why are VA benefits so confusing and difficult to qualify for? Part of the reason is that our Congress has erected a wall around VA benefits.  The first thing to know is that the only folks who are legally authorized to provide information to veterans about benefits are: 1. Federal Veterans Administration employees and employees of State Departments of Veteran’s Affairs; 2. Authorized representatives of Veterans Service Organizations like the VFW and American Legion, among others; and 3. Attorneys licensed to practice law in the veteran’s state and accredited by the VA. That’s right! You’ve got just three options to get the info and calling a lawyer is one of them. That being said, federal law prohibits a lawyer from charging a fee to actually assist a veteran with the claim for VA benefits. So why did Congress set it up this way?  Theoretically, lawyers are not allowed to charge a veteran to help with a VA benefit claim form because: – There are plenty of capable and trained VA employees available to help vets fill out VA claim forms for free; – There are plenty of capable and trained volunteers available at the various Veteran’s Service Organizations to help fill out VA claim forms; and – Veterans should be protected from attorneys who would overcharge them for doing something as simple as completing and submitting a VA claim form. Like many of our government’s plans, this works much better in theory than in practice. If you have not already tried to get help from either the Veterans Administration or a Veteran’s Service Organization, then I highly recommend that you do try that first. And please, do it immediately. Like everything else pertaining to elder care, planning early – before emergencies begin to occur – is the best way to avoid catastrophe! The folks at the Veterans Administration and the Veteran’s Service Organizations truly do want to help you. Unfortunately, because of their limited staff and hours, sometimes there’s simply not enough help to go around.  Many of you have already tried to find help, but still need more.  If you are confused, have been denied benefits, or still have questions, then it’s time to give us a call at 800-310-3100.    Rick Law Elder Law Attorney at Law Elder Law, LLP Rick was named the #1 Illinois elder law estate planning attorney by Leading Lawyer Magazine. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, AARP Magazine, TheStreet.com, and numerous newspapers and articles. Rick is the lead attorney for Law Elder Law, LLP, focusing in Estate Planning, Guardianship, and Nursing Home Solutions. His goal is to give retirees an informed edge when it comes to dealing with an uncertain future.  Get flexible retirement strategies that work during good times and bad, plus information on how you can save your home and assets from being used to pay for long term care.  Appointments are available in Chicago, Aurora, Oak Brook, Schaumburg, and Joliet.  Call 800-310-3100 for your free consultation now!
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