Veterans Need to Know their Benefits - Guest Speaker for June Convention

Veterans Should Know Their Benefits

Tim Jarvis

Veterans have access to an assortment of benefits, but may not know about them all or how to go about obtaining them. Timothy P. Jarvis is a Top Elder Law Attorney and veteran who knows how to help veterans identify these benefits.

Jarvis is a Top Elder Law Attorney focusing on helping families plan for long-term care needs. He was also an ROTC Cadet and now a VA Accredited Attorney.

From firsthand experience, he has seen the devastating effects of not planning for long-term care expenses can have on an individual and their entire family.

Jarvis will be a guest speaker for the State Convention, where he will be discussing useful and possibly unknown benefits veterans are eligible to receive. He will be presenting on Saturday, June 18 at 9:30 A.M. in Ballrooms three and four.

Tim founded Jarvis Law Office in 2003, an elder care and estate planning law firm. He has an “Excellent” AVVO Rating and was ranked by Columbus CEO as one of 2015’s Top Lawyers.

Many families struggle to pay for the high costs associated with home care, assisted living, or nursing home care. The Veterans Aid and Attendance Benefit assists in paying for care costs and ranges from $1,149 to $2,120 per month.

To be eligible for the benefit, you must be an honorably discharged veteran (or at least not dishonorably discharged) or surviving spouse who meets certain qualifications, including serving in active duty 90 days (one of which was during a war-time period), be at least 65 years old or permanently and totally disabled, and generally have between $20,000 and $80,000 in assets.

For those whose net worth is higher than the eligibility requirement, a VA accredited attorney can assist with creating a plan to preserve eligibility or to qualify for benefits now.

In the past, there were no time limits on when a veteran, or their spouse, had to plan in order to qualify for the Aid and Attendance Benefit. However, in 2016, the rules changed. The new rules will subject any transfers of assets to a three year look back period. Any transfers made within the three year look back period could result in a maximum ineligibility period of 10 years. In order to qualify for the benefits, many veterans will want to make preparations now to avoid the proposed look back period and corresponding penalties.

Come to his speech at the State Convention for more information and to ask questions.