Good news/bad news

It's hard to press forward right now, but I know I must in honor of my dad's final wishes, and my mom's future. We laid my beloved father to rest this past Saturday after he passed on from this life on January 25th.

I found this forum a few months ago - I think it was in October, 2010. Like many of you, taking on the VA and completing the A&A application had literally already become a full time job. What I found here was real first hand experience and discussion on what we go through in this process of helping our loved ones obtain the honor and respect that they deserve. Along with divine guidance and the information I gleaned from this site, I was able to get my dad's application processed and approved in about 6 weeks from the 'official' filing date, which was Nov. 18th. What's more, they honored the 'informal' filing date of Sept. 30th, and not only approved him for the maximum monthly benefit, but also awarded the back pay to Oct. 1st.

It's important to note that I began working with my senator's office (Bill Nelson- FL) in the middle of December. I'm not entirely clear on what all they did to assist with expedition, but their work along with my dad's rapidly declining health seems to have been what helped get things through. Dad went into the hospital on Christmas Eve and was admitted to the cardiac care unit in critical condition. I was told by all the physicians working on him that the end stage cardiomyopathy would more than likely get the best of him very soon. At this point, I still hadn't heard anything at all on where the VA was at in it's review of my dad's file. Hard as it was to focus and start grieving all at the same time, I began a frenzy (and I DO mean frenzy....) of phone calling that ultimately landed me on line with the assistant to my dad's reviewer. I made certain that he had everything that he needed to come to a quick decision. The information I sent them in November was organized exactly as described here in this forum. 3-ring binder, table of contents, careful labeling with each piece of paper displaying the name and claim number..... So with that, I felt confident that they had everything they needed - and probably then some. The only thing left was basically begging and pleading for them to do it before he died - which we were being told was now imminent.

They completed it in 3 short days, and with the help from god and the miracle workers at the hospital, my dad was able to be stabilized enough to leave the hospital under the care of hospice and return home to be where he wanted to in order to complete his life with my mom and me. We had 3 or 4 pretty good days with him before things turned. I was so grateful to be able to deliver the good news before he could no longer understand my words. His main concern has always been my mom, and in his final days, he spoke of this over and over again. Will mom be OK? Will someone take care of her? What will happen when I leave her?.....

It has now been a week since his passing, and I'm beginning the after death process of notifying all interested parties - including the VA. When the application was approved, the VA right away deposited the lump sum of back pay that was due for Oct, Nov and Dec.

A direct deposit payment of $1949 was credited to their account on Feb. 1st. He died on Jan. 25th, and I am now wondering if this payment will need to be sent back to the VA since it was intended for the month in which he died.

It doesn't seem right that they would take back money from the days that he did live, but if I'm understanding what I'm reading in various places, that's exactly what they are going to do.

Does anyone have insight into this?

Also - moving forward - i will now need to reapply for my mom as his survivor. Can I assume this process will be just as complicated for her?

Thank you SO much, from the bottom of my heart, to all the people who have shared their experience on this forum.

Sincerely,
Sally Cummings Shisler