assets..vacation home

[yogi]

Hi Everyone,

   I am just starting to look into this process.  my husband is 57 years old w/early alzheimers.  he will need to attend an adult day care while i work.  I will use his ira to pay.  Because he has not worked in several years his ira is less than $80,000.  This money will go quickly. 
  He is  receiving a 10% disability from Vets and served during Vietnam.  he also receives SS disability.
  My question is this.  I own a small vacation home.  His name is not on it and has never been on it.  My parents were original owners.  The title reads...my name w/life estate to my mom who is still living but in a nursing home.  Is this condidered an asset for him because we are married?  Also does my income count?

                                                Thanks,
                                                 yogi

[veteranadvocate]

I will address what I know.  Your income will count but any and all medical expenses for you will also count towards reducing total income.  The VA normally count all assets for both veteran and spouse.  There are some exceptions but I do not know if the way the deed is written would fall under one of the exceptions or not.

I highly recommend that you find someone to review benefits for your husband.  There could be additional benefits for him that he is not aware of.  I don't know what he is service-connected for but there could also be secondary conditions that he could be entitle to.  If his need for assisted care can be connected to a service-connected condition, the VA will cover the cost of the assisted care cost.

Best of luck to you and your husband. 

[veteranadvocate]

Brian,

     I feel you are totally out of line.  Your comments are very negative and you do not have all of the facts to come to the conclusions that you are.  You have no idea what the family's income and expenses are.  Yogi stated they have less than $80,000.  We don't have near enough information to come to any conclusion.  This is why I recommended that she review all of the facts with someone that can discuss all benefits.

     We don't know what the veteran is receiving service connected compensation for.  Could it be something that has led to the alzheimer condition.  It should at least be looked into.  I don't comment on things that I know nothing about.  I have no idea what effect ownership of the property is when the deed has w/life estate to her mother.  Again, it is worth checking out.

     Maybe I am having a bad day but you are coming across sounding like the VA.  More veterans and widows are missing out on benefits because they disqualify themselves.  What harm is it to recommend that they check to make sure that they do not miss any benefits?

     I've been doing VA claims for over 27 years and I make it a practice to not give out information that I am not sure of or give false hope.  I also make it a practice to encourage veterans and widows to check out all possible benefits.

[DawnLawElderLaw]

Yogi,

The income and net worth of both the veteran and spouse (as well as any dependent children) are counted by the VA.  So, yes, your vacation home needs to be listed as an asset if it is in addition to the principal residence.

Since your husband is on SS disability, he automatically meets the disability requirement for Aid & Attendance pension.  Assuming he meets basic eligiblity (wartime service), you just need to make sure your income and networth will meet requirements.  Your unreimbursed medical expenses need to be high enough to reduce your monthly income to less than the maximum pension amount, which is $1801 for a married couple for 2007.  Any dependent children at home?  If so, add $155 per month.

From what you said, your net worth may be excessive at this point for A&A.  You may want to consult with an elder law attorney in your area who is familiar with veterans benefits, as well as future Medicaid possibilities, for your best long-term care planning solution. 

Dawn M. Weekly