A Place for Mom's Family

I heard once that sometimes the surviving divorced spouse of a Wartime Veteran can qualify for Aid and Attendance, depending on how long they were married and whether she ever remarried.  Does anyone know the guidelines for this?

Yes, widows of a spouse who served during war times (did not have to be in battle) can qualify for up to $1000...see below...A Place For Mom's advisors will be happy to help you with any questions you may have and we also have specially trained staff specific to this benefit for Veterans. The below information is for 2007, the reimbursements have even increased for 2008.

• What is Aid & Attendance?  Benefits for veterans and surviving spouses who require the regular attendance of another person to assist in bathing, dressing, meal preparation, medication monitoring or other various activities of daily living.  This benefit is available to individuals who reside in assisted living communities, personal care homes, skilled nursing facilities and those receiving personal in-home care.

• How can these benefits help someone?  Aid and Attendance can help pay for care in the home, skilled nursing facility, personal care home or an assisted living community.  A veteran may be eligible for up to $1412/month, while the surviving spouse of a veteran may be eligible for up to $907/month.  A married couple may be eligible for up to $1,674.00.

• Who is Eligible?  Any War Veteran with 90 days of active duty with at least one day during active War time.   A surviving spouse of a War Veteran may be eligible if married at the time of death.  The individual must qualify both medically and financially.   Assets cannot exceed $80K however, many things, including their home, vehicle, annuities, pre-paid funeral expenses and many other are not included in this number.  For further information regarding financial qualifications, please seek the professional advice of an attorney or financial planner.   

• Eligible dates are 4/21/1898-7/15/1903,  5/9/1916-11/11/1918, 12/07/1941-12/31/1946, 6/27/1950-1/31/1955, 8/5/1964-5/7/1975,  8/20/1990-present

• How do I apply for this benefit?  There are two ways to apply for this benefit.   There are some communities that will assist you in applying or refer you to a professional, who will complete the documentation for you.  You may also apply by contacting your Regional Veteran’s Administration Office.  To locate the closest regional office to you, visit the VA website at http://www1.va.gov/directory/guide/home.asp?isFlash+1 .

• How quickly would I receive the benefit?  This is determined by the accuracy of the initial application.  The average process takes between 3-6 months.  However, the VA does pay retroactively from the date of application.  The resident is paid directly from the VA.  This program financially assists the resident with paying their monthly rent, care and/or services.

• Assistance:  Should you need assistance in obtaining a local number for your regional office, feel free to contact your Family Advisor with A Place for Mom.

This document is for informational purposes only.  We cannot guarantee eligibility.  The information above is subject to change without notice.

Good Luck!

Sheyna

Eldercare Advisor - A Place For Mom

Washington DC Metro area

However, when a person divorces the veteran they also divorce "the VA benefits."  The exception would be if they remarry someone who also was a wartime veteran.  The applicant must be married or a widow to the Veteran to recieve the benefit.

Many people have been given mis-information about this question: 

Will the widow of a wartime vet - who marries again, but her second husband is not a vet - be eligible for her first husband's benefits after being widowed by her second husband.  If she qualifies under the income and care guidelines, then the answer is Yes!   She definitely can collect the widow's benefit.  Many people misunderstand this fine point, believing instead that she had forfieted her rights to the benefit by marrying a second time. Not true!

In talking with the Veterans Admistration Office while doing some research and also applying for my father in law I ask the VA counselor about that question and she told me that there were no benefits if there was a divorce from the veteran.

I think you are correct Ray - there doesn't seem to be any circumstance where the divorced spouse can collect the VA Aid and Attendance Pension - the benefit is clearly for the spouse or the widow of the Vet.  I thought Sarah stated it rather succinctly by saying - when you divorce the Veteran you divorce the pension as well.

Dear Tanya,

You posted this month's ago, but I don't know if you had a reply?  Simply put, the divorce disallows the person from applying - it's for surviving spouses.  I really hope that you got an answer but if not, please don't hesitate to contact me if I can help you. 

Sydney Kennedy, CSA

866-344-9470

Is there anything in the VA documentation that specifcally addresses this?  My mother was widowed from my father (a WWII veteran) and years later remarried and was widowed from her second husband (a non-veteran).  I am getting some push back from local Veterans Services staff stating that she no longer qualifies for the benefit because of the second marriage and need something to direct them to. Thanks!

Hi Paul when I went and looked at the Aid and Attendance benefits it states that the widow is eligible if she was married to him when he died and she is the surviving widow, there is nothing that I could find that states that she is ineligible because she remarried.

My grandmother was married to my pappaw for over 40 years. He was well decorated with 3 Purple Hearts. She divorced him due to mental disabilities from the war which is in his records of why he received 100% VA benefits. She never remarried & he died 7 years ago. We tried to get her his benefits & were told this was a possiblilty because of his mental disability causing the divorce. Is this true?

I seriously doubt it Dianna.  When a veteran divorces, regardless of the reason, the spouse is no longer eligible for VA benefits. The following link will give some addional information, look under the section SPOUSE/SURVIVING SPOUSE:  http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/Benefits/

 If you haven't called the 800 827-1000 number to ask you might do so. The Veteran Service Representative that you talk to will do their best to give you the correct answer but they are not the final authority in determining benefits.

 Charles

Remarriage is normally a bar to benefits, but, there is a possibility of benefits if some specific requirements are met.  This link is to the law that governs benefits for a remarried spouse when the remarriage is terminated through divorce or death. 

http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/regs/38CFR/BOOKB/PART3/S3_55.DOC