The Aid and Attendance program can provide funds to help you pay for things with which you may need help. Tasks such as housekeeping, cooking,cleaning, lawn maintenance or bigger things such as home health care, assisted living facilities and nursing home expenses.
If you are a surviving spouse of a veteran, you may also be eligible to receive funds to help pay for these expenses.
This money is invaluable for those of us who really need it. The check is actually paid directly to the veteran or surviving spouse then they must pay the service providers directly. It is advised to keep a log of where you spend the money, especially if you net income is higher than your countable income. Your countable income being that amount which the VA looks at to determine your benefit eligibility (income minus unreimbursed recurring medical expenses).
It is best to apply for the benefit early on when you realize you are going to need additional financial help, because while I am sure the VA does it’s best to keep up with the demand, there are many claims that need to be processed every day. I am also sure many claims are not well documented and are deficient in some of the requirements the VA needs to fully process the claim. Given all these variables ,even with a well documented claim that has all the necessary papers you can still expect at best to start receiving a benefits check in a few months at best and if the claim is deficient any any of the requirements you can expect a much longer wait. Take away from this is that you sure make sure you have everything done properly the first time to avoid costly delays.
