23. The VA Benefit Every Senior Veteran Should Know About

If you're a veteran—or love someone who is—and you're navigating a big life transition like downsizing or aging in place, this episode is for you. We’re joined by elder law attorney Rachael Houck of Houck Menninger Law to talk about veterans benefits that often go overlooked, especially Aid & Attendance and how it can support the cost of care.

We cover everything from VA eligibility myths, to pensions and Survivor Benefit Plans, to why it’s essential to have the right estate documents before a move. You’ll also learn how to avoid common legal roadblocks, and how proper planning can open doors to financial help you didn’t know existed.

Whether you're a veteran, a surviving spouse, or an adult child helping your parents plan for the future, this conversation is packed with insight.

In This Episode:

• What is the VA Aid & Attendance benefit—and who qualifies?
• How military pensions and the Survivor Benefit Plan affect estate planning
• Legal must-haves: wills, trusts, and powers of attorney for veterans
• Misconceptions that stop people from applying for benefits
• How selling a home or downsizing affects VA eligibility
• Why elder law attorneys can be key to unlocking your options

🎯 Mini Tip:
You don’t have to be low-income to qualify for Aid & Attendance. With the right legal planning, even veterans with assets may be eligible for this powerful benefit.

📌 Connect with Rachael Houck:
https://www.houckmenningerlaw.com

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Visit www.downsizingroadmap.com for free resources, upcoming workshops, and past episodes.

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Transcript

Jodi Rosko 0:01

Welcome back to another episode of the Downsizing Roadmap Podcast with your hosts Jody Roscoe and Heather Fisher. We're talking about all things downsizing, from our own experiences with clients to guest experts. Let's make downsizing easier, one conversation at a time.

Heather Fisher 0:17

Welcome back to another episode of the Downsizing Roadmap Podcast. I'm Heather Fisher.

Jodi Rosko 0:22

I'm Jodie Roscoe.

Heather Fisher 0:24

And we are here again today with one of our favorite guests, Rachel Houck with Hauk Manager Law. And she is an elder law attorney. And we're going to dive into a couple topics today, a little bit deeper into some military veterans' benefits that you might not know about, and just how to get that long-term care planning in place. So welcome back, Rachel.

Jodi Rosko 0:49

Thanks. Thanks for having me. Yeah, so just briefly, we're going to talk about it's aid in attendance, right? That's what it's called. So we'll talk about all of it, but that's this is something I didn't even know existed. And it's such a powerful tool.

Rachael Houck 1:03

It is. So aid in attendance is a benefit for wartime veterans or their surviving spouses that helps basically supplement income to pay for long-term care. So typically it's going to come into place if someone's transitioning to assisted living or if we're trying to get care in the home.

Jodi Rosko 1:22

Okay.

Rachael Houck 1:23

So it it provides additional income for them to use that, hopefully, to keep someone home, right? Or if we're transitioning to assisted living where maybe Medicaid can't help, they get that extra income to help pay for that.

Jodi Rosko 1:38

Okay.

Heather Fisher 1:38

Is that in-home care can be just like day-to-day non-medical care as well as any nursing care in the home, or is it one or the other?

Rachael Houck 1:50

Yeah, so it would be typically when when you're receiving care in the home, it's going to be unskilled, right? So it's going to be assistance with things like bathing, toileting, ambulating, eating, dressing, all those kinds of things. Most of the time, if if it's skilled care that you're getting in the home, whatever that may be, typically Medicare may be able to cover that. Or if you're a military and you're getting your Tri-Care for Life, that health insurance may cover some of that. But most of the time it's that unskilled care that's coming in. Yeah.

Heather Fisher 2:24

Okay. So let's talk a little bit more on aid and attendance. You said wartime veterans. Talk a little bit about who is eligible for this and what that means.

Rachael Houck 2:36

Yeah. So wartime is is key. So you have to have served at least one day in a wartime period. So you know, it's going to be World War II, that time frame, Korea, Vietnam. And then interestingly enough, we are currently still in a wartime. So, you know, as our veterans um age, we're going to see a lot of people have the ability to potentially get this benefit. So again, one day and serve one day of active duty and a wartime period with 90 consecutive days before or after that one day. And it don't have to have been in battle. Correct. You do not have to be boots on the ground. There is for Vietnam, because Vietnam was considered a conflict before they officially made it a war, there is a period where you have to have been in Vietnam. But the later part of Vietnam uh period, you can be serving in Germany, right? Um that's important because people will say, well, yeah, my dad was or mom were um was in Vietnam, but they weren't in Vietnam, they were in, you know, Germany or whatever. Doesn't matter. Um we can still potentially get that benefit. So um surviving spouses also are um able to receive this benefit so long as they were married to the veteran at the time of the veteran's death. Um so a lot of people don't know that, um, which is a big, big deal. Um there's this is different than like retirement income from the VA. So the VA typically has what we call compensation, which is where they're getting their retirement benefit because they retired from the military, or maybe they are receiving some sort of disability compensation because of a service connected injury. That's compensation. This is what we're calling a pension. Um and so there's aid in attendance pension, and then there's uh also there's three levels to it actually. There's basic and then uh in home or home homebound, they call it, and then aid in attendance. So that basic pension is for poor people, um, kind of like our supplemental security income or SSI. And then the next step up is uh are we homebound? Do we need assistance with two activities of daily living? And then we move to that aid in attendance. So typically if we're homebound, we're gonna be able to get aid in attendance.

Jodi Rosko 5:04

Um So this is I this is how little I know about this, but yeah. Then would they also do they have health care through the military or is there health care like Medicare Medicaid as well?

Rachael Houck 5:16

So it depends. Um like for example, my dad's a Vietnam veteran, but he wasn't at he what he wasn't in he didn't retire from the military, right? He did his two his two tours and that was it. So he and my mom are on Medicare. Um they don't have TriCare for Life. If you were a service member, like you actually retired, you were a lifer, if they call it, you might have Tri-Care for Life. Okay. Which is basically kind of what it replaces Medicare. Got it. Um some might have Medicare, some might have TriCare, but this works either way? Yeah. So this is a it's not actually a like a health insurance. It's literally if the way it works is if if all of your income is being used on unreimbursed monthly medical expenses. So say somebody's earning $2,000 a month and they have care in the home that's you know $3,000 a month. You apply for this aid in attendance so long as you meet the other eligibility requirements. And if you're a veteran, um they can get up to $2,300 a month. Even if even if they're only that there's only that $1,000, you know, that the difference. The difference, yeah. Because they're that $2,300 is meant to supplement or pay for the medical expenses. Then you can have your rat other money to pay for your food. Yes, to live. Right. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So um it's really um, you know, uh it's a great benefit. Now, similar to Medicaid, it does have the income requirement, which we just talked about, um, and then it does have an asset requirement as well. So for um the VA basically uh for aid in attendance, um you can own a house, a car unlimited amounts of cars, um, and then you can have about $150,000 of other resources and be eligible for aid in attendance. Um aid in attendance also allows you to transfer those exempt assets without being penalized. So with Medicaid, if we have a house, it's exempt. We can get on Medicaid and get that benefit. But if we transfer it to a tr irrevocable trust or a family member or whatever, and then we go to apply for Medicaid, we get penalized because it's no longer we gave that exempt resource away. For the VA, which is really important for for realtors and people helping um seniors uh with homes, we can take that house and put it in an irrevocable trust and not be penalized. So the benefit there is you've got somebody who's got a house, you know, $100,000, their car, and they're thinking they want to transition to assisted living. And they call you guys as realtors and say, hey, I want to sell my house so I can use it to pay for my assisted living. Well, if they convert that house, that's exempt, and they sell it and make $300,000. Well, guess what?

Jodi Rosko 8:09

They're over the asset limit.

Rachael Houck 8:11

Yes. Yes. But if we put it in that irrevocable trust first and then we sell it, they maintain their eligibility the whole time.

Jodi Rosko 8:19

So they can still sell the house. It's not like they're gonna have to keep it. It's just a path in how we're gonna do it. Correct. Yep. It's a strategy.

Heather Fisher 8:25

Every time we talk to you, Rachel, it just reinforces that we need that team of people. There are so many nuances that, you know, when you explain it and you know it so well, I think there's so many people out there that would just either not know the benefit exists or not know that path of moving things, protecting things, how it should be titled, all of those things. Thank you for sharing with us. We'll keep going into it, but it just makes me realize we don't know so much just as you know, lay people that are not elder law attorneys on you know, making that middle class income and assets work for us for that long-term care that can be so expensive and such a financial burden.

Jodi Rosko 9:14

Yeah, because I think w if somebody's thinking about selling their house down, you know, going into independent living or assisted living, I think honestly w the first step is they need to talk to you or somebody like you because um what if we sell the house and we you know we don't want to do something that later we are like, oh, we shouldn't have done that. Right. You know? Yeah. And I'm sure when you meet with them, you're asking them all those questions. You know, were you in the military? Were you know, all of those questions, I'm sure you're asking those as part of your, you know, first meeting with them about trying to figure out what we want to accomplish, right?

Rachael Houck 9:49

Yep. We um we have a form that goes out with their confirmation that basically is just some data collection. Um and one of the things on there is were you or your spouse in the military? Um and I think you're right, Jody, to your point. Um, you know, if you are uh helping a loved one, uh a parent, grandparent, whatever, transit transitioning or you're thinking about making that transition, I think your first step should be having those conversations, having those conversations with a certified elder law attorney just so that you don't make mistakes that we can't fix. Yeah. I see that a lot. You know, it's like, well, shoot, I wish you would have come and talked to me first. And I think part of our responsibility as certified elder law attorneys in the community is trying to get this information out to other people who are servicing our seniors, right? You know, you don't have to be an expert on it, that's what I'm for, right? Right. I'm not an expert on real estate, that's what you're for, right? Yeah. So but pointing people to those resources so that they can have the information to make those educated decisions is super helpful.

Jodi Rosko 10:56

Well, and that's what I love about you and all the other people, all of the other vendors that we have have so much knowledge. Um, and we aren't going to know all the things, but we need to know enough to know that we need to talk to you. Right. And I think um many people don't even know that much. And I would say before all that happened with my mom and everybody, um, I probably didn't know that much about, oh gosh, you might not want to sell your house before you talk to these, you know, because people think, okay, well, I'm gonna make this move and I'm gonna sell the house and get the money out of it and I'm gonna pay for it. And you know, they just think that seems like an obvious path, and they don't realize there are ways to protect that that income or that or that those assets um that they just don't even know exist.

Rachael Houck 11:42

Right. Well, and it gives people options, right? So that um, you know, maybe we uh we are going to a facility that doesn't take Medicaid, or you know, this the typical, well, I'm never leaving my house. Well, the that's great. We all hope that happens. Yeah, but the odds aren't in our favor. They aren't in any of our favors, right? So um Nobody's escaping. Yeah. No. In the end. Right. That's true. Um you know, or they'll say, well, we have too many assets. We can't qualify for anything. But the fact of the matter is we have tools, right? Le tools that are legal that the state of Ohio recognizes, um, that we work with every day, that gives people the ability to get these government benefits, whether it's Medicaid or aid in attendance. And, you know, you've worked your whole life, right? You shouldn't have to turn it all over to the nursing home. And furthermore, if you do go on Medicaid or, you know, using all your income along with this aid in attendance to pay for your assisted living, you don't have any other money, right? Once you're on Medicaid, you get 50 bucks a month.

Jodi Rosko 12:48

Yeah.

Rachael Houck 12:49

So how are you going to get your hair cut? You know, how there's things that aren't covered, and now you've worked your whole life to be a pulpit. Yeah. Yeah.

Heather Fisher 12:59

So with the um aid and attendance in asset protection, is it the same as Medicaid or are there differences in how you would protect your assets? Do you want to speak to that?

Rachael Houck 13:13

Sure. So I'm sure you guys out there have all heard of that five-year look back for Medicaid, right? So with Medicaid, we have to get over that five-year hump. Uh meaning we can't give assets away for less than fair market value within five years of needing Medicaid. Um, people get confused and think that if I if I take my house and I give it away to my kid and then I need Medicaid, they're gonna come after my kid, right? That's not what happens. So I take my $100,000 and I give it away to my kid, and then I need Medicaid in two months. Medicaid's not gonna go back to my kid and say, give us the $100,000. What they're gonna say is, great, you're eligible, right? Because you don't have any money. But we're not gonna pay for your care for X number of months. And now somebody's got to come up with that $10,000,000, $15,000 a month, right? So VA is similar. Um, the aid in attendance, instead of a five-year look back, there's a three-year look back. So um if we take assets, whether they're exempt, like the house or the $150,000, or non-exempt assets, and we put them into an irrevocable trust, after three years, it's as though we never own those assets. And now we become eligible for aid in attendance, at least based on the asset prong, right? Um, because like Medicaid, we have an asset eligibility requirement, your wartime service that we already talked about, that income requirement, and then there's that medical need. Um so similar to Medicaid, um, that medical need is assistance with two activities of daily living. Activities of daily living meaning walking, assistance, walking, eating, bathing, um, toileting, um, and then there's and or um if you need a protective environment due to a cognitive impairment, um, that would also meet that medical requirement. So um, you know, we have to meet all of those prongs, but that asset protection prong or the that asset one is typically where we're coming into play. Right. Okay.

Heather Fisher 15:15

So with aid in attendance, um, I think you said or you've told us before that uh a spouse is eligible for these benefits, and then in that case, um they would just have to meet those same requirements for the assistance needed with two um the the walk-in, two activities a day, and and it would be all of the same requirements, but they're eligible because of their spouse's duty? Correct.

Rachael Houck 15:44

So um it's kind of confusing. If we have a married couple where the veteran is still alive and the non-veteran is the one with the medical need, uh we can't get the maximum benefit because they're looking at the veteran, right? And the veteran isn't disabled or doesn't have those that need for those two activities of daily living. We can still get some money, but it's not going to be the maximum. So if the veteran passes away and now we have the surviving spouse, now it's based on his or her disability, not this the veteran because the veteran's deceased.

Heather Fisher 16:20

Got it.

Rachael Houck 16:21

So um and the surviving spouse, the the benefit for them is um about $1,500 a month. So it's not quite as much as a single veteran, but it's still something.

Jodi Rosko 16:30

Um and it's not like if they're both having problems, then only the veteran will be getting Right. The spouse only gets it if the the surviving spouse. Correct.

Rachael Houck 16:43

If if the vet veteran has passed it. That's right.

Jodi Rosko 16:46

Okay.

Rachael Houck 16:46

Um and yeah. And you know, the other hurdle there tends to be too, if we've got a married couple where the non-veteran is the disabled one or the one needing having the need, is typically we're not using all of the income, right, on their care. Um so it becomes one of those things where if we aren't if we're staying in the home, normally we we aren't meeting that uh income requirement. Got it. Um it's not until normally then at that point that they would transition out of the home. Um but if we go to a nursing home, typically aid in attendance isn't really something that's going to assist us because Medicaid is seen as the primary payee, right? And so if you're getting aid in attendance, uh they'll stop paying it and Medicaid comes in instead.

Jodi Rosko 17:33

Because Medicaid's gonna take it all care of it all.

Rachael Houck 17:36

Right. If you're on Medicaid, right. But typically if someone's transitioning into the nursing home, I'm not going to be pushing aid in attendance because again, the maximum is only $2,300 a month, which isn't going to most likely cover a shortfall between their income and that $12,000 a month. Right. That's where Medicaid becomes the better deal.

Jodi Rosko 17:57

Right. Right. But in care, in home or assisted living. Or assisted living. It can be a great, great help. Yes. And so many people don't know about it. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

Rachael Houck 18:07

They do not, yeah. And you know, the other thing I see a lot with uh my veteran families is they'll come in, son or daughter or spouse will come in to talk to me about the veteran, and I'll ask, you know, and they'll be like, oh, we've already talked to the VA, we don't qualify for anything. And I'll say, well, when did you have that conversation? And oh, six years ago. Okay, well, things the situation has changed, you know. And unfortunately, when they go to the VA to have these conversations with the officers there, they don't tell them, well, you don't make meet this requirement now because you're not disabled, but if you get sick someday, come back, right? They just say you're not eligible. So um, you know, it's important, just like your estate planning, that you update that, that you continue to investigate those potential benefits out there.

Jodi Rosko 18:55

Yeah, because rules could change even.

Heather Fisher 18:56

Correct. Yeah, as as well. And definitely the situation. Yeah, the situation definitely can change. So um yeah, I think again, the knowing that it's another tool in your toolbox and preparing for that situation by starting the asset protection and the proper trusts and having that plan in place helps with the eligibility for aid and attendance, Medicaid, whatever the situation. And if you don't need any of it, that's amazing too, but it it won't change the fact that it's protected and sitting there, you know, already done.

Jodi Rosko 19:39

What legal documents do they need to apply for it? What do they need to have?

Rachael Houck 19:43

Um so for aid in attendance, um they need to have the D214 or their discharge paperwork. Um that's really important. Luckily, we don't need the original anymore because everything's submitted online. So, you know, legible is helpful. Um but we don't need the original. Um sometimes if your family member doesn't have their discharge papers, if you contact the county um that they returned to from when they were discharged, a lot of times they recorded those. Um, especially with World War II and Korea, um, Vietnam, you don't see it as much because people didn't want people to know that they were because of the environment when they came to the state. Yes, right. Um but so the DD 214 or whatever their discharge paperwork is, um, the VA does not honor power of attorneys. So the veteran has to sign all the paperwork on their own. Um it can be a mark of whatever kind. Um capacity isn't really an issue with that. They are just the ones signing it. Or the surviving spouse, right? So whomever the applicant is. Um and then, you know, typically when we're helping families through that process, uh we're doing a lot of the same doc we have to have a lot of the same documents that we'd have to have if we were applying for Medicaid. Um, bank statements, things to show what their assets are, um, birth certificates to show that they're uh resident of the United States, right? All of those kinds of things. How long does the process take? Oh, Jody, that's the question. Um So unfortunately, uh, you know, the VA is not quick to process anything. Um I've had uh uh applications approved in as short as two weeks, um, and I have one that's currently still processing in, and it's been almost 18 months. Um so you know the problem with that is they're hoping to get this money and they're budgeting on that and they don't have it, and now we're going all this time. Now the good news is once they are approved, they will get a retroactive lump sum payment back to the month of application well, the month after we apply. But the veteran has to be alive or the surviving spouse in order to receive that. So this constant delay. And they say if you're over what is it? I think it's if it if you're over 90 or older, they'll expedite it. Well this poor lady that is been attending for 18 months just turned a hundred.

Jodi Rosko 22:12

Oh my.

Rachael Houck 22:12

Yeah. So um and you know, we're kind of low on funds. The reason we did this aid in attendance was to supplement, you know, she's got a pretty decent income, but she's gonna run out of money at some point. And unfortunately, where she's at, um the assisted living facility she's at doesn't take Medicaid. She's been there for uh I want to say nine years. And so if she runs out of money, have to move. Have to move. Yeah. So that is one one downside um to a it is taking a while. And it's it's started to take longer after COVID.

Jodi Rosko 22:46

Okay.

Rachael Houck 22:46

Or during COVID, really.

Jodi Rosko 22:48

I mean the retro is great, except if you don't have the money in the first time. Right. Exactly. Yeah. Right, right, right.

Heather Fisher 22:53

Yeah. And it sounds like one of those things that you're you're not really sure of your eligibility and and planning for it until it's the time to apply. I mean, you could maybe know that you would potentially hit hit the eligibility requirements, but it sounds like you're in a waiting game.

Rachael Houck 23:14

Yeah, you can't Yeah, you can't just be like, hey, I'm submitting this application so that you can improve it in case I need it someday. Yeah. No, it's just it's like Medicaid.

Jodi Rosko 23:23

You have to So you could you could know that you were in the wartime, you know, you could know you were good there. You could know that you've created the estate in a way that will make it work. Um, but then you have to wait until you're in a place where you need it. Correct.

Rachael Houck 23:37

And then And you have to actually the other kind of tricky part with this is you can't say, hey, I'm going once I get p this money, I'm gonna pay for health aids to come in my home. You have to actually be spending the money now. So that's kind of another tricky part of it, right? Is i if you're waiting for them to pay you, but you have to already be spending it.

Jodi Rosko 24:00

Yeah, so that's back to the earlier estate planning, right? To make sure that you have some funds, hopefully, you know, that you can you can use those funds in the meantime, right? Right, right. Yeah. So yeah, so that's a little rough. But you said something there though that I think that we should hit on a little bit harder, which is she's been there nine years and they don't take Medicare. And so you have to be careful where you go in the beginning.

Rachael Houck 24:27

Yeah. So um so as far as Medicaid in the VA goes, Medicaid is a long-term care benefit that is every nursing home in the state of Ohio, besides two, which are one's in Toledo and one's in Cleveland. So n for those of us in Southern Ohio, not an issue. All the m all the nursing homes take Medicaid, okay. Assisted livings have the option. So they're not required to take it. And if they do take it, they can say we require you to privately pay out of out of your own pocket for two years. Right. Or whatever that may be. Yes. Um and then uh in-home providers also are not required to take Medicaid. Um, and there's less of them that take it really than assisted living. And the reason for that is because Medicaid puts a um a flat reimbursement rate. So I don't know what it is now, but passport is the in-home care. Um, but you're talking maybe $17, $18 an hour, um, which you can't hire somebody to do that. Right. So um unfortunately that's not something that is super available to the community. Um but aid in attendance or VA, um the VA health insurance isn't taken by all nursing homes, right? So there's VA certified nursing homes. So you have to remember when you're talking about a veteran or their surviving spouse, uh the insurance prong is different than aid in attendance. So if you're trying to get to a facility that accepts the VA insurance to cover their entire stay, like Medicaid, okay, that's different than if we're saying, hey, I'm gonna have aid in attendance to help pay for my care. That's just that aid in attendance is coming to you and you're using it to do whatever you want. So it doesn't have to be a VA certified facility for you to also get aid in attendance. Does that make sense? So you'd have to have the TRICARE or whatever. The to get the VAT. Yeah. Okay. To get the VA to cover your care like Medicaid. Got it.

Heather Fisher 26:31

Yeah. So if you're out there listening and you're an adult child like I am, and Jody is, and Rachel is, you know, if you're out there and all of this is just like waiting for You're not even speaking English. I don't get it. I think that that is what we have learned, Jodi and I, in you know, meeting so many great people in the senior service industry is that you know you have elder law attorneys like Rachel that know all the nuances of the different things. And then a step back from that when she's talking about different places take this and that. We have you know senior placement people that are amazing at knowing that information as to which places take which and working closely with your you know elder law attorney and your financial plan, like all of that, back to that dream team. The senior placement person can say, okay, let's talk about what Rachel set up, what are we looking for? What are we gonna need for mom and dad? And they can point you to those places. And that's why, you know, hopefully if you're listening, you can not have to understand the foreign language that that Rachel speaks of you know all of these different laws and and numbers, but just know that if you just start that ball rolling early and get that plan in place, there are these experts that know that and you can, you know, rest in that calm of we've got the people that can help you get mom and dad to the right place with the right planning and you know, do the best asset protection for your family and get them somewhere where they don't have to move later if that's needed, um, you know, and have that plan. And that's so much more peace of mind than just, you know, being like, oh well this place is pretty, hope we can afford it. Right.

Jodi Rosko 28:33

For however long it's gonna be, which we don't know. Right.

Heather Fisher 28:36

Yeah, yeah.

Jodi Rosko 28:37

Which I do think we get that too a lot, and people don't see that longer term of what you know how long you could potentially live in. It could be a long time. She's a hundred, right? Right? I mean, it could be a long time that you are looking to, you know, fund a life in in a place. So yeah.

Heather Fisher 28:56

Yeah, yeah. So any other points on this, Rachel, to share with us today?

Rachael Houck 29:01

Um, yeah, I just I think one other thing to point out where people um kind of as a stumbling block for them where they think their loved one doesn't uh wouldn't up wouldn't uh this benefit wouldn't be accessible to them, is they're like, well they're they're home and you know they're still independent and on their own. They don't need assistance with two activities of daily living. And that's typically when I'll ask the question, okay, well, who's buttoning mom's blouse? Like, is mom wearing, you know, elastic pants now because she can't do buttons or zippers, right? Is she wearing slip-on shoes? Is do you have to go over there and just be in the house when she takes a shower to make sure that she doesn't fall, right? It's assistance with activities of daily living. It's not I can't do it at all, right? So maybe you're going over there and um, you know, cutting up mom's meat, right? Or maybe we're per pureeing her food, um, or there's things like that, or you know, that's assistance, right? It doesn't have to be the complete inability to do the task. Um, and then the uh the flip side of that coin is when your veteran is having that conversation and we're getting with the doctor, because we need a doctor's note that goes with the application, we're not Superman that day, right? You know, the they tend to want to downplay their needs. We don't want to downplay, okay? You can be Superman tomorrow, but with the doctor, you need to tell them everything that you need help with, right? Um, because that's that's one of those requirements to get the benefit.

Jodi Rosko 30:32

Mark's dad used to do that all the time. He'd be having all kinds of problems, and we'd go to the doctor and be like, I'm fine. Like, no, you're not. Yeah. So yeah. I they don't want to they don't want to share for whatever reason. I I do get that. Yeah. Yeah.

Rachael Houck 30:49

And if you um, you know, certainly I I'm not the only person that can have these conversations with with um the family or their veteran um loved one. Um any of the the VFWs and things like that do handle these applications. Um certainly the VA can handle it as well. Um, you know, sometimes it depends on which officer you're getting that's going, whether they're helpful or know what they're doing, but that can be done um through those organizations. So I would just hesitate um to make sure that, and this is kind of a public service announcement for our veterans and their families, um, the VA does not allow anybody to charge a veteran to fill out the application. Um there are some organizations that advertise that they will do it for you and they charge you. Um technically that's not supposed to be done. So it it should be a free service, at least if it's only the application.

Jodi Rosko 31:46

Okay. Well, I think even just knowing that it exists is, you know, step one. Yeah. And honorable. That's great to know that it it should be a free service as well. So um, yeah, because I know many, many, many people who when we brought this up and we said this was something we don't know enough about it to, you know, share, but that's something they should look into. They were like, what are you talking about? Yeah.

Heather Fisher 32:06

So yeah, and we're so thankful for our veterans that have served. We want them to get all of the benefits out there that they can. So um, you know, if this is something you might be eligible for, reach out to you know Rachel or you know, uh any the VA, anybody that could help just answer those questions to explore whether this is an option for your family. And we'll be back again next week with another episode. Thank you again, Rachel, for joining us today. My pleasure. Thanks for having me. All right, catch you next time. All right, bye-bye. Thanks for joining us on the Downsizing Roadmap Podcast. If you found this episode helpful, be sure to subscribe, leave us a review, and share it with someone who might need a little downsizing inspiration. Have questions or ideas for future episodes? www.downsizingroadmap.com. Until next time, let's keep simplifying and moving forward.