Michigan Veterans Benefits For Seniors
Many Michigan families do not realize that there are Veterans Benefits available to pay for home care, care contracts and assistance in the home for seniors. As one of the few Certified Elder Law Attorneys in Michigan, my practice is devoted to helping seniors, veterans and their families navigate the long-term care legal maze.
A common mistake I see families make is that they wait to long to try to secure their Aid & Attendance veterans benefits. It’s unfortunate because many times if they would have come into our Bloomfield Hills law office years ago, we could have had their VA Benefit turned on this whole time.
This means that families could literally be leaving thousands of dollars on the table.
For example, let’s say Joe is a senior veteran living in Troy, Michigan. He’s living on his own, however his daughter helps him with some activities of daily living a few times a week for a couple hours a day. Plus, he receives a couple hours of private duty home care from a commercial Oakland County home care company.
Let’s assume Joe receives $1500 per month in Social Security and has $300k in savings and a house. He is paying the commercial home care company $1000 per month.
If Joe or his family were to go to a local veterans service organization, chances are they would tell him that he will not qualify for the full benefit (or any benefit) because he does not meet the income or asset tests.
However, if he were to come to our office, as a VA accredited attorney, I would counsel the family in setting up a Veterans Asset Protection Trust, Care Contract and submit the VA application on his behalf. In the end I would be able to turn on a $1,700+ monthly tax free benefit.
It’s unfair that it is all in who you talk to and where you get advice from. That is why you should seek advice from VA Accredited Certified Elder Law Attorneys. There aren’t many of us in the state.
