Can VA Aid and Attendance Benefits be Garnished for Credit Card Debt

[Piglet]

Good Evening Everyone,

I was wondering if anyone knows if my mother-in-laws VA Aid and Attendance Benefits can be garnished by Unifund Collection Agency or any other collection agency.  We thought her credit card account had finally went away since we hadn't heard from a Collection Agency in almost a year.  We have been dealing with this account since she went into the assisted living facility in January 2010.  My husband just meet with the field examiner for his fiduciary/custodian evaluation in late June and he is waiting to hear from VA regional office in Indiana about the status of his evaluation. But we seem to remember seeing a section that said VA Benefits can not be garnished for Credit Card Debt, but now we cant find it in the paperwork the field examiner left with my husband. Can anyone tell me where I can find some information or document on VA's website that shows that VA Benefits can not be garnished or used to pay for credit card collection debt. I had no problem finding it on Social Security's website and it even referenced Section 207 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 407). We want to have all the information we can get before calling this collection agency since we just got the letter in the mail tonight.  Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Thanks!!!!

[vetwife]

Hi Piglet,

I also came across this info somewhere in my research for benefits for my husband.
I am sorry I don't remember exactly where I read about it.
I think that you are correct that they are unable to come after the pension.
You could try looking in the va manual that is hyper-linked in the "tips and resources section"
I read a lot of interesting info in there, including the fiduciary stuff.

Thanks to Debbie this website is a wealth of information 

[Piglet]

Thank you for information and I will be looking at that tonight.  I knew I saw it somewhere else, thanks again

[vetadmin]

VA pension payments are exempt from claims of creditors. With certain exceptions, the payments are not assignable and are not subject to attachement, levy, or seizure except as claims of the United States.

[Piglet]

Thank you Debbie -  You are a wealth of information and I really love your site!!  It has helped us so much!!  I was 99% sure that they could not touch her VA Benefits and I knew they could not touch Social Security.  Her confirmation makes me feel better and now we can go head to head with this collection agency, they just can't seem to get it.

Have a Great Weekend!!
Piglet

[vetadmin]

You're welcome!  Good luck.

[vetwife]

May I ask how the interview went with the field examiner?
Was the person pleasant?  We will probably face this down the line since my husband has vascular dementia.
We are at almost four months now with his claim.
Thanks very much.