Should I get help from the VA in filling out the A & A forms?

[Mary]

I went to our local Veterans office to obtain a certified copy of my dad's discharge papers.  The guy at the Veterans office assured me he knew all about this Aid & Attendance program and said he could assist me in filling out the papers and getting them to the VA.  After reading the instructions on this site, I'm afraid to take a chance with him.  Any advice?
xoxo, Mary

[vetadmin]

Mary,

We hate to say that there aren't SO's out there who have a full understanding of the pension and do a great job of assiting folks, but it is a coin toss with no consistency. They will assign themselves as the representative and you won't have a complete copy of the application, and if you need to call on the claim you will not be able to do so.  They will not mail the application Registered Return Receipt and you will have no proof it was received, and if you would have to go back to them, you will be at their mercy. If the VA says they never received the application, it will be your word against theirs.

You need to make a decision that you are comfortable with, but need to factor in how confident you are you lucked out and got someone who will do this the right way.

You can print off all the forms and follow the step-by-step directions on the website and do this yourself.  All the resources you need can be found on the site and these forums.  Look at some of the postings in the Personal Story section.

Good Luck!

[VSR]

The biggest thing to keep in mind here is the division between the VA federal offices and county offices or state offices or veteran service orgs.  If you are near a VA regional office (i.e. a federal office), go there and turn it in there.  If you can do that, they can do a quick review and let you know what you need.  You can also see them date stamp the application and establish it in the system.  This is a HUGE advantage over submitting it through a VSO or a county office.  That being said, VSO's and county offices are better than nothing.  Make sure you copy your whole app before you submit it.

[jpez]

Since 90% of all applicatants DO NOT live close enough to 'drop by' what is the process for date stamping?  When an app is overnited, is it given lesser concideration than an app that is dropped off?  And what about an app that is sent Priority Mail?  and finally....what abput an app that is mailed by regular mail?

Why should dropping by get better consideration?

[VSR]

The reason I suggest dropping the claim off in person is because if you do this, you can actually have a VSR give it a quick review while you wait.  This means that if you are missing something they need, they can tell you right there on the spot.

As far as timing goes, you're mostly right jpez.  Submitting the documents through the mail doesn't add much time.  That being said, I have seen countless cases where people turn documents in to someone at the county or a state office and then wait 4-5 months and find out that the county didn't turn it in to the federal office or that there was a disconnect somewhere and the claim never made it to the feds.  Turning it in in person ensures that it is received, established, and gives you the advantage of having someone review the day it arrives instead of 2-3 months after it arrives.

[Drew43920]

I went to our local Veterans office to obtain a certified copy of my dad's discharge papers.  The guy at the Veterans office assured me he knew all about this Aid & Attendance program and said he could assist me in filling out the papers and getting them to the VA.  After reading the instructions on this site, I'm afraid to take a chance with him.  Any advice?
xoxo, Mary

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Have you considered getting an Veterans Advocate involved.
Say the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, etc.
Here is one site but I have not used them myself.
http://www.vetadvocates.com/

[VSR]

If you live close to a regional office, I suggest going there and just talking with a Veterans Service Representative there.