Procedure for Setting Up VA Fiduciary Account for Mom's Benefits

"It Really Was Quite Easy and Painless. "

Hello All,

Today we finally had the meeting with the rep from the VA to set up the Fiduciary Account for mom's Aid and Attendance Benefits. As promised I will tell you all how it went and what I found out about the process. 

The meeting was very informal. We met at the Adult Family Home where mom is now living. The rep needed to meet with my sister who was to become the fiduciary and my mom, in order to assess her abilities to handle her own money. I went along to see how the process worked and just in case there where any questions about her application since I was the one who filed the initial forms.

The rep was very nice. She asked my mom the usual questions when checking for dementia; Do you know what year it is? Do you know who is president? Do you know where you are? Have you been in the hospital in the past year? Mom was able to answer some of the questions but with further conversation and my mom's own admittance, it was obvious that she needed help and could not manage her money on her own. 

The rep then gathered required information. She needed copies of my mother's financial  statements, bank accounts and any other sources of funds. She needed verification of my mother's current monthly income - social security and any other sources besides the VA benefits. A list of her current medical expenses was also needed - medicare supplement premiums, and lists of medications and cost of care at the Adult Family Home. Then she asked for two references from my sister who would testify to my sisters trustworthiness. She also asked for my sisters approximate yearly income.

After gathering all the information she went over the process for setting up the account. My sister will receive a letter of approval from the VA after they complete a background and credit check on her.  She then needs to take the letter along with a direct deposit form which the rep gave her to the bank and have them set up the account. The account will be in my mother's name with my sister's name listed as fiduciary. She said any bank can be used. Once the account is set up the back payment that is owed to my mother will be deposited into the account and her regular monthly payments will start going into that account.  

Here are a few rules about how the account is to be handled:

•  My sister will have to write checks from this account directly to the Adult Family Home, she cannot transfer the money into mom's other account and write one check, she will have to write two checks every month.
• There is never to be any commingling of funds with any of my sisters own money. The money is to be used only to pay for mom's  care ( already knew that ).
• My sister must keep records of all expenses in case they were to ever audit the account. Not hard since it's money in money out kind of situation.
• We are to notify the VA if mom moves or goes on medicaid anytime in the future. 

Other than that it was pretty straight forward. The meeting lasted about 30 minutes and she wanted to see my mother's room before she left. We were glad to get this piece of the puzzle in place so that from here on out things should be straight forward. 

By the way, if someone has ever filed for bankruptcy they cannot be a fiduciary for another under the VA rules. 

Hope this helps you if you are facing this procedure in the future. It really was quite easy and painless. We are very grateful to have these benefits for mom as they allow us to have her in a nice quiet place with some wonderful people looking after her. Without the VA we would have had to apply for medicaid and then the uncertainty of where she would end up would have been an issue. We will have to apply for medicaid in the future if she out lives what she has left but at least this buys us some time (about 4 years) to see what our options are without having to make a hasty decision we may regret. 

If you are in a situation like ours, I suggest that you take the time to research medicaid facilities, as I will be doing, over the course of the next several months. Find out what facilities take medicaid and if there is a waiting list. I find being proactive makes things easier and less stressful for all. 

Until Next Time
Take Care All,
Ruth Anne

VA Benefits In Less Than 3 Months !

On July 7th my mom received her first deposit for VA benefits for aid and attendance. 

This was less than 3 months after we applied! Now that is quite good considering they told us it could take 9 months to a year before we saw anything. So I thought I would share the way I went about applying for the benefits in hope that it would help anyone beginning the process.

I will try to make this as simple to understand as possible.

Aid and Attendance Benefits can be used to help pay for care in a facility like assisted living, in home caregivers and the like. These benefits can also be used to pay family caregivers. 

Unlike the government website I will make this as simple to understand as possible. I hope it helps.  

It's suggested to hand deliver the claim to your local VA office. Ask to speak to a representative and have them look everything over. They will let you know if anything is missing and they will begin your claim for you.

Open the form search page on the government website. CLICK HERE to open in a new window, or copy and paste this link in your browser - http://www.va.gov/vaforms/

Print out the following forms:

1. Form 21-534ez
2. Form 21-2680 
3. Form 21-22
4. Aid And Attendance Affidavit (see below where to get this form)

Form 21-534ez:  Application For DIC, Death Pension and or Accrued Benefits
This form is the one you will use when applying for Aid and Attendance Benefits. You can apply for the veteran or the surviving spouse of a veteran.

The first few sections are self explanatory. When completing section II you will find the information you need on the veteran's discharge papers. 

Section VII :  Your net worth at this point must be below 60,000 for a surviving spouse and this does not include a home, vehicle, furniture or clothing.

Section VIII : This is the section on your monthly income so have all your income sources handy such as social security, retirement benefits, pensions, public assistance etc... when it asks for social security  they what the full amount before the medicare deduction, this is listed on your social security statement as the gross monthly amount. 

Section IX :  Expected Income. Here is where you list your expected income such as interest and dividends or any income not listed in section VIII

Section X : Here you will need to show that your medical expenses including what you pay for care like paying a caregiver, paying assisted living costs and the like along with your insurance premiums if you have supplemental insurance along with your medicare and the premium you pay for medicare part D prescription drug coverage and the deduction for medicare that comes out of you social security.  Here you want to make sure to show that the amount of money spent each month on medical costs along with care exceeds their monthly income. If it exceeds the monthly income by $1149.00 or more you will be approved for the full amount of benefits which is $1149.00 a month. But don't make things up -  you will need to keep records and prove that you are actually paying out for these services. 


The one for whom the claim is being submitted will have to sign a couple of forms and there is a section for witnesses if the claim is being signed by someone else due to the inability of the claimant.

Form 21-2680:  This form needs to be filled out by a doctor. At the time we applied for my mom she was in rehab and they were very helpful in getting this filled out in just one day for us. The doctor should fill out the full diagnosis including the need for aid and attendance. If your patient is blind or mostly blind like my mother, this diagnosis will almost automatically get approval for benefits - as will dementia and other illnesses that require regular daily aid.

 

Form 21-22:  Appointment of Veterans Service Organization As Claimant's Representative

I recommend this form because I think one of the things that made our claim move so quickly is that I took all the forms to the local VA office and requested help in filing the claim. With this form the VA rep will be able to have access to the claim and can follow up on your behalf. This form also needs to be signed by the claimant, so make sure you put that in the stack of forms for them to sign. 

Aid And Attendance Affidavit form:

CLICK HERE to open a link to a copy of this form, or copy and paste this link in your browser -  http://www.stclaircounty.org/offices/veterans/forms/Attendant%20Affidavit.pdf

It is very important that you have a copy of this form filled out by each of the caregivers that will be paid for care giving. And as you will note the claimant will need to sign these forms also affirming that they are paying these people for care. If you have more than one caregiver being paid you will need a form for each one. ( note: you will be required to issue a 1099 if these are in home caregivers so make sure they know this and they will be required to pay the proper taxes on these wages unless you are taking taxes out of their pay for them. In that case you will issue a W-2 as usual for employees. 

 Now that you have these forms filled out you will also need the following when filing a claim:

• Discharge papers for the Veteran WWII Vets form 53-55 Vets -  after WWII Form DD214
• Marriage certificate if filing for surviving spouse
• Death Certificate if filing for surviving spouse

Well that is it for forms. Now I suggest as stated above to hand deliver the claim to your local VA office. Ask to speak to a rep. and have them look everything over. They will let you know if anything is missing and they will begin your claim for you. If you are missing anything get your reps email address as most missing information can be emailed to them by you, saving you extra trips. 

MAKE COPIES OF EVERYTHING - EVERY FORM - EVERY DOCUMENT - AND STORE THEM IN A FOLDER FOR EASY ACCESS.

Now you wait. If you have not heard from the VA in 60 days call your rep and ask them to check on your claim. 

If you have any questions feel free to ask me and I will answer to the best of my knowledge. I do not claim to be an expert, I just wanted to share what I did with the hope that it may  help others.

Until Next Time 
Take Care
Ruth Anne