Veterans' Disability Law

Property Tax Break for Disabled Colorado Veterans

Spencer & Spencer — Mon, 09 May 2011 22:27:17 +0000

The 2006 Constitutional Amendment reduces property taxes for disabled veterans. It exempts up to 50% of the first $200,000 in actual value on residential property.

The deadline to apply is July 1.

To qualify, you must meet these criteria:

You must have a service-connected disability.
You must have been honorably discharged from the military.
Your disability is rated as 100% permanent and total.
You have owned and occupied the home as your primary residence since January 1 of the year of application.

You can get the tax exemption application form from the Colorado Division of Veterans’ Affairs website.

You must attach a copy of your rating decision showing you are permanently and totally disabled.

If you liked this post, you can get more updates: subscribe to our RSS feed, subscribe to E-mail updates, follow us on Twitter, or become a Facebook fan.

If you'd like to talk to an attorney about your Veterans' Disability case, please contact us via e-mail, phone, or the Internet.

You may also be interested in:
FREE VA Case Evaluation
Ask a Veterans' Disability Lawyer
Veterans' Disability Attorneys
_____________________
This blog provides general information. Do not mistake it for legal advice. Please read our disclaimer.

Disabled Veterans Can Save on Property Taxes in Colorado

Can the VA Reduce My Benefits?

Spencer & Spencer — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 18:15:46 +0000

We recently received a question via our online Ask a Lawyer form: “If I have surgery to improve one of my conditions, and the VA says that condition is fixed, will I lose my disability benefits?”

The answer is that unless the VA has deemed your condition “permanent,” it can review your rated conditions at any time. But it is more likely to do so if it gets information that leads them to believe you may have improved.

Getting surgery to improve one of your conditions may lead to a lower rating from the VA. It depends on the rating table for the condition. And it depends on the level of improvement.

This post is not meant to discourage any vet from getting surgery that could improve their life. The decision to have surgery is a personal one, and should be made based on the advice of your doctor.

If you liked this post, you can get more updates: subscribe to our RSS feed, subscribe to E-mail updates, follow us on Twitter, or become a Facebook fan.

If you'd like to talk to an attorney about your Veterans' Disability case, please contact us via e-mail, phone, or the Internet.

What is TDIU?

Spencer & Spencer — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 21:55:32 +0000

TDIU (Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability) is also called IU and Unemployability. TDIU is paid to veterans who cannot work due to a service connected disability, but have less than a 100% schedular rating.

How can I qualify?

There are two ways to qualify.

1. Ratings-based qualification:

You must first have one service-connected disability of 70% or a combination of ratings totaling 60% with one of the included ratings being at least 40%.

If you meet one of those requirements, and you can show that one of your service connected disabilities has caused a total inability to work, you can qualify for TDIU.

2. Severity-based qualification:

If you have a service connected disability that doesn’t meet those schedular rating requirements, but the disability prevents you from working, then you can still file a claim for TDIU.

This is especially useful if you meet the maximum rating for a condition, but don’t meet the ratings-based qualifications listed above.

The maximum ratings for some diseases are less than 100%. For example, the highest rating for migraines is 50%. If you have migraines that prevent you from working, then you should file for TDIU, even though your rating is only 50%.

If you liked this post, you can get more updates: subscribe to our RSS feed, subscribe to E-mail updates, follow us on Twitter, or become a Facebook fan.

If you'd like to talk to an attorney about your Veterans' Disability case, please contact us via e-mail, phone, or the Internet.

Americans with Disabilities Act and Veterans

Spencer & Spencer — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 22:08:35 +0000

Access “Know Your Rights” Info for Veterans

A new publication, “ADA: Know Your Rights — Returning Service Members with Disabilities,” is now available.

The publication provides service members who have been seriously wounded in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom a basic understanding of their rights under the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and where to turn for additional information and assistance.

Access the report here:
http://www.ada.gov/servicemembers_adainfo.html

or download a pdf version: http://www.ada.gov/servicemembers_adainfo.pdf

If you liked this post, you can get more updates: subscribe to our RSS feed, subscribe to E-mail updates, follow us on Twitter, or become a Facebook fan.

If you'd like to talk to an attorney about your Veterans' Disability case, please contact us via e-mail, phone, or the Internet.

Should I Hire an Attorney or VSO to Help Me with My VA Claim?

Spencer & Spencer — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 17:13:13 +0000

As you can see from the above chart, having an attorney at your BVA hearing increases your chances of winning.

Even though attorneys have been able to represent claimants at BVA hearings for only a short time, our impact is being felt by the veterans we represent. Attorneys were successful for their clients in 69% of the hearings before the BVA.

Although VSOs like the DAV provide a valuable service to many veterans, they are overworked. Many VSOs do not have the manpower or resources to adequately handle your case through the many stages of appeals.

Our firm is honored to help veterans who have sacrificed for all of us. We have many years of experience dealing with the government, which ensures your claim has the best chance for success.

We also give personal attention to our clients-you will never feel like a number at our firm.

If you liked this post, you can get more updates: subscribe to our RSS feed, subscribe to E-mail updates, follow us on Twitter, or become a Facebook fan.

If you'd like to talk to an attorney about your Veterans' Disability case, please contact us via e-mail, phone, or the Internet.

How Do I Apply for Veterans’ Compensation for a Disabling Condition?

Spencer & Spencer — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 20:15:33 +0000

You can apply for disability benefits from the VA in two ways.

1. You can apply on the Internet. Go to the Department of Veterans Affairs Online Application Website (VONAPP). Instructions are here.

2. You can also apply by filling out a paper form. Fill out VA Form 21-526, Veterans Application for Compensation or Pension.

If you have any of the following, attach them to your application:

Dependency records (marriage and children’s birth certificates)
Medical evidence (doctor and hospital reports)

You can file this form by mailing the original application and your supporting materials to the closest VA office. You can find the address in your local telephone book or at the VA website.

Always be sure to make a copy of everything you send to the VA, and if you can, it is a good idea to send anything like your Application, Notice of Disagreement or Form-9 via certified or signature required mail.

The VA doesn’t do the best job of keeping track of documents. If they lose something that affects a deadline in your case, having proof that you mailed it to them can be important.

Who is eligible for VA Disability Compensation?

You may be eligible for Disability Compensation if you have a service-related disability and you were discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable.

How much does VA Disability Compensation Pay?

The amount of basic benefit paid depends on your level of disability. You can find the current compensation rates here.

You may be paid additional amounts above the basic benefit if:

you have very severe disabilities or loss of limb(s),
you have a spouse, child(ren), or dependent parent(s),
you have a seriously disabled spouse.

If you liked this post, you can get more updates: subscribe to our RSS feed, subscribe to E-mail updates, follow us on Twitter, or become a Facebook fan.

If you'd like to talk to an attorney about your Veterans' Disability case, please contact us via e-mail, phone, or the Internet.

Disabled Veterans Can Save on Property Taxes in Colorado

Spencer & Spencer — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 07:59:24 +0000

If your service-connected conditions are rated as 100% permanent and total, you can save on your property taxes in Colorado.

In 2006 voters passed a Constitutional Amendment that reduces disabled veterans’ property taxes. It exempts up to 50% of the first $200,000 in actual value on residential property.

To qualify, you must meet these criteria:

You must have a service-connected disability.
You must have been honorably discharged from the military.
Your disability is rated as 100% permanent and total.
You have owned and occupied the home as your primary residence since January 1 of the year of application.

You can get the tax exemption application form from the Colorado Division of Veterans’ Affairs website.

According the the instructions on the form, you must attach a copy of your rating decision showing you are permanently and totally disabled.

The deadline to apply is July 1.

If you liked this post, you can get more updates: subscribe to our RSS feed, subscribe to E-mail updates, follow us on Twitter, or become a Facebook fan.

If you'd like to talk to an attorney about your Veterans' Disability case, please contact us via e-mail, phone, or the Internet.

Property Tax Break for Disabled Colorado Veterans

How Long Will My VA Disability Case Take?

Spencer & Spencer — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 11:00:34 +0000

Getting VA disability can take a long time.

It can take up to a year to get a rating decision from the VA after filing your application. If you are not happy with the rating decision, you have 1 year to appeal by filing a Notice of Disagreement.
Recent information from the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA) shows that it is currently taking 222 days from the date you file a Notice of Disagreement until you receive a Statement of the Case from the VA.
If you appeal the Statement of the Case, then you have to file a VA form-9 requesting a hearing with the BVA. From the date you file your form-9 until you get a decision can take more than 2 years.
Of the 48,804 cases the BVA handled in 2009, only 24% were awarded the benefits they were seeking. The rest were either denied (36%) or sent back (remanded) to the VA for additional development (37%).

If the BVA remands my case, how long will it take?

The average remand time is about a year and a half. But a remand doesn’t guarantee that your case will be decided the way you want.

Ultimately, it can take many years for your case to be fully resolved. But on average, it takes about four and a half years to get your case decided by the VA, assuming you have only one appeal to the BVA, and the VA approves your case when it gets sent back to them.

The Hamster Wheel

Many veterans are stuck in what we call the “hamster wheel” – where you get part of the benefits you are seeking, but the VA keeps sending your case back for bits and pieces of it to be decided. This can go on for years with no end in sight.

Hiring an attorney to represent you can take some of the momentum out of the hamster wheel. Out of the types of representatives listed in the BVA report, attorneys had one of the lowest denial rates in front of the BVA (see p. 21). Which means they also had the majority of their cases awarded or remanded.

As more attorneys handle more cases for disabled veterans, the statistics should get even better. Veteran Service Organizations are overworked. The attention they can give each case is pretty limited, and they do not necessarily have the training or legal expertise of an attorney.

If you liked this post, you can get more updates: subscribe to our RSS feed, subscribe to E-mail updates, follow us on Twitter, or become a Facebook fan.

If you'd like to talk to an attorney about your Veterans' Disability case, please contact us via e-mail, phone, or the Internet.

Facebook Contest Winner

Spencer & Spencer — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:12:09 +0000

We just announced the first winner of our Facebook gift card giveaway. Become a fan of Spencer & Spencer on Facebook and you could win a Target gift card.

Every month, one lucky fan is selected at random to win a Target gift card. Plus, in any month that we hit one of our goals, two fans will win a gift card:
50 fans
75 fans
100 fans
125 fans

So, become a fan, and you might win a giftcard!

If you liked this post, you can get more updates: subscribe to our RSS feed, subscribe to E-mail updates, follow us on Twitter, or become a Facebook fan.

If you'd like to talk to an attorney about your Veterans' Disability case, please contact us via e-mail, phone, or the Internet.

Getting Congressional Help With Your VA Claim

Spencer & Spencer — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:56:13 +0000

If you’ve been getting the run-around from the VA and your VSO doesn’t seem to be getting anywhere, contacting Congress can get the wheels turning.

To contact your U.S. Senator or Representative, go to Project Vote Smart, and click on “Complete Contact Information” once you get to your senator’s or representative’s page. Let them know about the trouble you’ve been having with the VA and they will assign someone to look into your case.

Sometimes help from your senator or representative is not enough. If they are not on one of the veterans’ affiars committees, you may also need to contact senators or representatives that are on the veterans’ affairs comittees.

Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee

Click on the tab that says “VA Benefits Claims Process.” You will get:

information on the VA disability process,
a list of the Senators who serve on the Veterans Affairs Committee, and
contact information so you can get assistance with your claim.

The House of Representatives Veterans’ Affairs Committee

You will find:

information about VA,
a description of the benefits that are available, and
information about how to get help with your claim.

If you’d like to talk to an attorney about your VA case, please contact us via e-mail, phone, or over the Internet.

If you liked this post, you can get more updates: subscribe to our RSS feed, subscribe to E-mail updates, follow us on Twitter, or become a Facebook fan.

If you'd like to talk to an attorney about your Veterans' Disability case, please contact us via e-mail, phone, or the Internet.

The VA on 60 Minutes

Spencer & Spencer — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:59:02 +0000

On January 3, 2009, 60 Minutes ran a segment on delays at the VA in claims processing, titled “Delay, Deny and Hope That I Die.”

You can watch it online, at cbs.com:
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/60_minutes/

If you’d like to talk to an attorney about your Veterans’ disability case, please contact us via e-mail, phone, or the Internet.

If you liked this post, you can get more updates: subscribe to our RSS feed, subscribe to E-mail updates, follow us on Twitter, or become a Facebook fan.

If you'd like to talk to an attorney about your Veterans' Disability case, please contact us via e-mail, phone, or the Internet.

Wounded Warriors-VA and Social Security Disability Benefits

Spencer & Spencer — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 23:51:17 +0000

Social Security has established a program it calls “Wounded Warriors,” which expedites the claims of wounded service members.

Estimates on the number of Wounded Warriors vary depending on the source:

The DOD reports about 34,000 were wounded since 2001.
The GAO’s analysis of VA data shows there are about 250,000 wounded.
A 2008 study by the RAND corp. estimates 500,000+ active duty and veterans suffer from one of three mental health or cognitive conditions.

Even though we don’t know how many service members have been injured in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is clear that more should be applying for Social Security disability benefits.

Only a small number (4%) of Wounded Warriors receiving DOD or VA benefits also receive Social Security disability.

To qualify for the Wounded Warriors progam:

you must have been on active duty on or after October 1, 2001,
you must have been disabled on or after October 1, 2001.

If you think you cannot work, then you should file an application for Social Security disability. Even if you were disabled before 2001, you can still apply for benefits, but your case won’t be expedited by SSA.

One encouraging statistic is that most Wounded Warriors get approved for benefits. SSA has approved about 60% of the applications so far.

If you’d like to talk to an attorney about your VA case, please contact us via e-mail, phone, or the Internet.

If you liked this post, you can get more updates: subscribe to our RSS feed, subscribe to E-mail updates, follow us on Twitter, or become a Facebook fan.

If you'd like to talk to an attorney about your Veterans' Disability case, please contact us via e-mail, phone, or the Internet.

What is the 2010 COLA for Veterans’ Benefits?

Spencer & Spencer — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 18:16:37 +0000

Senate Bill 407 was passed by both the House and Senate, and signed into law by President Obama.

The bill sets an increase in compensation rates for service connected disabilities and for Dependency and Compensation benefits.

the increase in compensation will be the same as the Social Security cost of living adjustment (COLA), rounded down to the lower whole dollar amount,
the COLA is tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Due to a lack of inflation, there is no COLA adjustment for 2010.

And federal budget figures indicate that zero COLA for disabled veterans and social security recipients could go into 2012.

If you’d like to talk to an attorney about your VA case, please contact us via e-mail, phone, or the Internet.

If you liked this post, you can get more updates: subscribe to our RSS feed, subscribe to E-mail updates, follow us on Twitter, or become a Facebook fan.

If you'd like to talk to an attorney about your Veterans' Disability case, please contact us via e-mail, phone, or the Internet.