Aid in Attendance question regarding seperated spouse

[sas58]

I am applying for Aid in Attendance, or at least trying to apply, for my 82 year old father.  He has been seperated from his wife, ( 3rd marriage) for 2 years physically and financially.  She is too ill and he is too ill to care for themselves or each other and they have moved home with their respective children. I am a little confused on how to best fill out the AIA form specifically in regard to spouse info.

I have made notes about this situation. They are not legally seperated or divorced.  I am not putting any asset info from her and have made notes in reference to this.  I do not want to have it come back declined because of something I incorrectly put in to the application.

Any input with this would be helpfull.

Scott

[vetadmin]

Scott,

Normally the VA requires financial information on both the veteran and the spouse to determine eligibility. 

With your situation being a little different, we would recommend you include a letter stating they are separated due to illness - I don't know if the VA will demand an accounting of her assets or not - Write separated due to illness, their respective children (explaining children are not blood related, and  are managing their finances separately as well as providing their care. 

If the VA comes back on it, let us know and we will try to help as best we can.

[VSR]

If they are separated due to marital discord, then she would not be considered a dependent for VA purposes.  If her income and assets are not reasonably available to him, then i would not report it but at the very least explain in detail the situation.

[sas58]

Thank you for the response.  That is exactly what I did. I will keep you posted.

Scott