**Success** in 40 days - Full benefit for Assisted Living

[gt57]

The direct deposit appeared a day before the award letter.  Monthly deposits started, waiting for retro back to August, 2010.

Location: Plain City, Ohio
VA Regional Office: Cleveland, Ohio

To recap:

I am helping my 87 year old mother, a surviving spouse residing in an Assisted Living facility since August 2010.

8/26/10 - filed informal claim via certified mail.

8/30/10 - received certified mail reply for 8/26/10 mailing.

9/24/10 - called VA to see if they assigned a file number.  The VA rep did not understand what an "Informal Claim" was and advised me to file my claim as soon as possible.

9/25/10 - filed all my paper work sans the file number via certified mail.  Used the 3-ring binder with tabs format discussed in this forum.

9/29/10 - received letter from VA defining the multiple conditions that constitute an informal claim.  The letter had the assigned file number and included a blank form 21-534*.

9/29/10 - received certified mail reply for 9/25/10 mailing.

9/30/10 - received letter from VA stating they have received my application and to sit back and wait.

11/3/10 - Monthly direct deposit arrived

11/4/10 - Award letter (I assume, I have not seen what my mother received in the mail)

[vetadmin]

Well Congratulations are certainly in order for you!!

Must say shocked at the timeframe, and you should truly consider yourself and your mom very lucky indeed.

So glad to know that postings here were able to be a guideline for you.

God Bless!

[Red Headed Mommy]

The direct deposit appeared a day before the award letter.  Monthly deposits started, waiting for retro back to August, 2010.

Location: Plain City, Ohio
VA Regional Office: Cleveland, Ohio

To recap:

I am helping my 87 year old mother, a surviving spouse residing in an Assisted Living facility since August 2010.

8/26/10 - filed informal claim via certified mail.

8/30/10 - received certified mail reply for 8/26/10 mailing.

9/24/10 - called VA to see if they assigned a file number.  The VA rep did not understand what an "Informal Claim" was and advised me to file my claim as soon as possible.

9/25/10 - filed all my paper work sans the file number via certified mail.  Used the 3-ring binder with tabs format discussed in this forum.

9/29/10 - received letter from VA defining the multiple conditions that constitute an informal claim.  The letter had the assigned file number and included a blank form 21-534*.

9/29/10 - received certified mail reply for 9/25/10 mailing.

9/30/10 - received letter from VA stating they have received my application and to sit back and wait.

11/3/10 - Monthly direct deposit arrived

11/4/10 - Award letter (I assume, I have not seen what my mother received in the mail)

I am getting close to submitting our paperwork for my 90 year old father-in-law. 

1/21/11 to date:  Discovered this benefit, found this website (Yeah!), gathering documentation and completing the paperwork.

2/12/11- filed informal claim via certified mail.

2/18/10 - received certified mail receipt indicating the VA received the package on 2/15/11.

I have 2 questions:

1.  Should I call the VA to see they have assigned a file number?

2.  Should I going ahead and file my paper work sans the file number via certified mail?

I am hoping I will be as successful as gt57  :-)

[vetadmin]

If you have not received a letter from the VA with the file number then no, don't put anything and don't call.  It is too soon for it to have been entered into the system.

Just mail Return Receipt and include a letter stating you filed an informal claim that was received by them 2/15, and that this is the completed application.

Keep us posted, and let's hope you have a great story to share.

Good luck!

[gt57]

I did not hear from the VA for several months about setting up the fiduciary which was a requirement for the back pay (one month for us). I made a couple of calls to the 800 number and about a week later I received a letter from the field examiner and finally was able to talk to her and make an appointment.

The field examiner let me know what I needed to bring to the meeting/interview which was conducted at the assisted living facility.  All went well.  I was required to setup a REP PAYEE checking account listing me as the payee.  Once I got the new checks, I voided one and sent to the field examiner via email.  I asked her to send an acknowledgement which she did.  She also confirmed that she would take care of changing the direct deposit.

I am assuming that I will soon see the back pay in the new checking account.

The field examiner could not have been a nicer person.  She stepped me through the entire process, made sure I understood all the paperwork I was signing.  She is reachable via cell phone as well as email.