Aid and Attendance

How can we help you with the Aid and Attendance program?  And what are the requirements for qualification? 

How can we help you? 

At The Heritage Law Group, we have over twenty years of experience advising families about techniques to preserve sufficient funds to allow a dignified standard of living for the families of government benefit recipients, such as Veteran's Benefit applicants. We use techniques such as:

• Smart Spending
• Gifts
• Irrevocable Trusts
• Annuities

We pride ourselves on our ability to explain the process in plain English.

Like Medicaid, we are pleased to design a plan that will allow qualification for government benefits, whether that means planning for resources, income, or medical expenses.  If we have designed your Aid and Attendance plan, we are pleased to assist you with filing the application for benefits.  If, however, your resources appear to be at qualification levels, and your medical expenses are sufficient to qualify you for the maximum benefit, we are unable under federal law to assist with the application for a fee.  We will provide you with a "Tips on Filing" sheet to allow you to move forward on your own.     

What are the requirements for qualification?

Aid & Attendance is a U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs program that provides an income supplement of up to $2,020 a month to a qualified married veteran, or $1,704 a month to a qualified single veteran, or $1,094 a month to a qualified surviving spouse, to assist in paying the cost of long-term care.

To qualify, the veteran must:

• have served for at least 90 days, of which at least 1 day must be during a recognized period of wartime; and
• must be honorably or generally discharged; and
• have limited assets, not counting the family home, car and personal possessions; and
• demonstrate that medical expenses are using a substantial portion of income; and
• show the need for assistance with basic activities of living, such as prescription management, bathing, grooming, eating or supervision to remain safe.

There is no need for the military member to have served until retirement, or for the military member to have a service connected disability, or for the military member to have been in the war.  The military member may have served at Langley Air Force Base for two years during the time of the Korean War, and qualify. 

Recognized dates of wartime:

• World War II: December 7, 1941 through December 31, 1946. If in the military on December 31, 1946, then service through July 26, 1947 is considered continuous wartime service. Service in the Merchant Marines can also qualify.
• Korea: June 27, 1950 through July 31, 1955.
• Viet Nam: August 6, 1964 through May 7, 1975. If the person was physically on site in the Republic of Viet Nam, the period is extended to February 28, 1961 through May 7, 1975.
• Persian Gulf: August 2, 1990 - a date yet to be established

We also encourage our clients to determine whether the veteran has a service connected disability.  We understand that benefits available through that program can exceed those available under the Aid & Attendance program. 

Please see the section titled "What to expect at your Long Term Care Planning appointment" to get an idea of what to bring, and what to expect.