If someone in active military service is injured or becomes ill, or has some prior injury or illness exacerbated by their service, and later in life it results in a disability, then they're entitled to compensation. Elder law attorney Jim Koewler joins Suzanne to talk about the benefits of this federal program run by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Compensation is available to certain veterans and certain surviving veteran family members. VA has a program Congress called Pension, in which a veteran or spouse qualifies, for serving in the military during a time of war, and who now need more health services than they can afford, if you qualify for Pension and you also need help with Activities of Daily Living, they can get Aid & Attendance on top of Pension. If you get Compensation, and also need help with Activities of Daily Living, you can also get Aid & Attendance on top of Compensation.

This is a disability program, not limited to people who served during a time of war the way that VA Pension is. Medical and personnel records are very important to show the disability occurring now is connected to something that goes back to their time in the military.

Before going into further details, Jim revisits some items he discussed about Pension in earlier podcasts, in particular accreditation and discharge papers. You'll want to request a copy of the discharge papers that the VA will see. For people have a dishonorable discharge, they may be able to get it changed.

You can see slides from this presentation on the YouTube video. Learn more at http://www.protectingseniors.com or email Jim at jkoewler-afe@protectingseniors.com.