The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides various benefits to US Armed Forces Veterans and uniformed servicemembers as well as their dependents, surviving spouses, children, and parents upon death, as codified in Title 38 of the United States Code (U.S.C.). The program provides assistance in the form of health care, disability compensation, pension plans, loans, education and training, life insurance, and burial assistance.
You can file a VA claim on your own or hire a VA claims attorney, veterans’ service officer, or claims agent to represent you throughout the claim process. These professionals can help you gather and submit the required employment and medical evidence for a successful claim. They can also assess your condition and advise you on your options.
How do you file a Claim for VA Benefits?
To apply for VA benefits, you first select the type of benefits for which you are eligible, and then complete the relevant application form with details about your condition. You are also required to upload supporting employment and medical evidence before submitting your claim.
If you are seeking VA benefits for the first time, you should submit a copy of your service discharge forms documenting your service dates and the type of discharge. These include DD-214, DD-215, or a WD form for some World War II Veterans. The documents are issued after release from active duty and should be kept safe and accessible to the next of kin. They contain the veteran’s full name, military service number, branch, and dates of service. The VA may assist you in obtaining the documents if they are missing.
For claims regarding the death of a veteran, the claimants must submit the veteran’s marriage certificate, the veteran’s death certificate, the veteran’s birth certificate, the children’s birth certificates, or adoption papers.
Most VA benefits are issued to those discharged from active military service under other than dishonorable conditions. Thus, you may not qualify if you were discharged from service based on bad conduct by a general court-martial. Also, veterans with outstanding felony warrants are not eligible for these benefits. To be eligible, an individual must have served full-time, other than active duty for training, as a member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Space Force, or as a commissioned officer of the Public Health Service, Environmental Science Services Administration, or National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or its predecessor, the Coast and Geodetic Survey. Some VA benefits require wartime service.
Types of VA benefits
Veterans and servicemembers have access to a variety of benefits depending on their current situation and needs. They include:
- Disability Compensation Service
Disability compensation is tax-free. It is paid to Veterans with physical and mental disabilities that resulted from service, were worsened or aggravated by service, or are presumed to be related to military service. This compensation is also payable to Veterans whose disability is linked to VA health care. If you are applying for disability benefits, you must prove that you have a disability that resulted from a disease or injury incurred or aggravated during active military service. Eligible veterans and servicemembers may also apply for a grant to purchase a new or used automobile, or to adapt a vehicle for their use.
- Pension
Pension is a tax-free benefit paid to Wartime veterans aged 65 and above with limited income. Younger veterans who are permanently and totally disabled are also eligible. Seriously disabled or housebound veterans may also be awarded an additional aid and attendance or housebound benefit.
- Education and Training Benefits
Educational and training VA benefits are paid to servicemembers and veterans pursuing an approved educational program. The programs cover Active Duty, National Guard, Reserve Servicemembers, and Veterans. They include the Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33), which provides financial assistance towards tuition and fees, books, supplies, and a monthly housing allowance. Other VA training/educational programs pay a monthly allowance to eligible veterans and service members to help offset educational costs. They include:
- Montgomery GI Bill-Active Duty (Chapter 30)
- Montgomery GI Bill-Selected Reserve (Chapter 1606)
- Reserve Educational Assistance Program (REAP)
- Home Loans
VA’s home loan services are available to veterans as well as Active Duty, National Guard, and Reserve Servicemembers. The loans’ terms are favorable as they don’t require a down payment or mortgage insurance premiums. If loan payment difficulties arise, VA can also step in and work with the loan servicer. VA also provides many housing benefits and grants. It guarantees loans, refinances loans, and gives specially adapted housing grants.
If eligible, you can have the VA guarantee a portion of a loan from a private lender to help you buy a home for personal occupancy. You can also ask them to guarantee your loans for building, repairing, and improving homes, or to refinance your VA or non-VA mortgage. VA also offers Specially Adapted Housing Grants to severely disabled Veterans and military personnel to adapt or acquire housing suitable for their needs.
- Life Insurance
Eligible servicemembers and veterans can apply for special insurance benefits. These benefits are available to individuals who cannot obtain insurance from private companies because of the risks related to military service or due to service-connected disabilities. VA life insurance benefits include:
- Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI), which covers Servicemembers and often expires shortly after discharge, except for disabled Servicemember.
- Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance Traumatic Injury Protection (TSGLI) provides payments to servicemembers who suffer losses from traumatic injuries such as amputations, blindness, and paraplegia.
- Veterans’ Group Life Insurance (VGLI) allows Servicemembers to convert their SGLI to lifetime renewable term coverage after separation from service.
- Service-Disabled Veterans’ Insurance (S-DVI) provides coverage for Veterans with a service-related disability.
- Veterans’ Mortgage Life Insurance (VMLI) provides mortgage life insurance for home mortgages of disabled Servicemembers and Veterans who are recipients of Specially Adapted Housing Grants.
- Career Preparation and Independent Living Services
VA’s Career Preparation and Independent Living Services’ VetSuccess program supports veterans with service-connected disabilities in obtaining suitable employment. It offers vocational counseling, job search assistance, education and training services, and career counseling/evaluation to Veterans with and without disabilities. The program also offers comprehensive rehabilitation services to eligible veterans, enabling them to get jobs and live as independently as possible.
- Burial
VA offers certain benefits and services to honor our Nation’s deceased Veterans. They include:
- A monument to mark the grave of an eligible Veteran
- A Presidential Memorial Certificate (PMC) for the eligible next of kin
- An American flag to drape an eligible Veteran’s casket
- Some reimbursement for funeral and burial expenses
- Qualifying Veterans and dependents can be buried in a VA national cemetery
- A bronze medallion to be placed on a headstone identifying the deceased’s status as a Veteran
- Dependents and Survivors
Unmarried surviving spouses and dependent children of deceased sevicemembers and veterans can claim VA benefits if the servicemembers who died during active military service or if the veteran died from a service-related disability. Survivors can also claim certain benefits if the veteran suffers a serious service-connected disability. VA survivor benefits include:
- Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC), which is paid monthly to eligible parents, spouses, and dependent children
- Survivors’ Pension, which is a monthly payment made to eligible surviving spouses and children of Veterans who died from a non-service-connected cause.
- The Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) provides partial payment of the cost of covered health care services and supplies.
- The Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance (DEA) Program provides dependents with education and training benefits.
- Home Loans are available to unmarried surviving spouses of veterans who died on active duty or from a service-related disability. Eligible recipients can use the loans to purchase, construct, or improve a home or to refinance a mortgage.
- Health Care
VA provides many health care services, including in-hospital, outpatient medical, dental, pharmacy, and prosthetic services. Special VA health care programs include:
- Health and rehabilitation programs for homeless Veterans
- Domiciliary, nursing home, and community-based residential care
- Alcohol and drug dependency treatment
- Medical evaluation for disorders related to Gulf War service or environmental hazards
- Specialized health care for women Veterans
- Treatment for Military Sexual Trauma (MST)
- Readjustment counseling
VA offers assistance and support to caregivers who provide personal care services to Veterans who are seriously injured, chronically ill, disabled, or are no longer able to care for themselves due to age. The program offers support in the form of respite care, Adult Day Health Care (ADHC) Centers, home-based primary care, home telehealth, and home equipment and modification. They also offer support to veterans’ caregivers who incurred or aggravated a serious injury in the line of duty in the form of training, counseling, a stipend, and health insurance coverage for the family.
Appeals and Supplemental Claims Disagreements
The Veteran Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017 defines the VA claims and appeals process for resolving disagreements with VA decisions. You can request a review or appeal if you were denied disability compensation, pension, education benefits, recovery of overpayments, reimbursement for unauthorized medical services, and burial and memorial benefits.
A VA benefits attorney can help you through the appeal process. Generally, VA allows you to request a review of VA’s decision within a year from the date of the notice. You also choose your desired review method from three options: a higher-level review, a supplemental claim, or an appeal directly to the Board. Claims involving contested decisions may require shorter periods of appeal (60 days) and can only be filed directly with the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board).
If your claim was denied, you are allowed to appeal directly to the Board within one year of the date of the VA decision. If you are appealing to the Board, you may request a hearing with a Veterans Law Judge and are allowed to submit additional evidence. A Board decision may also be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.
You may file a supplemental claim at any time if you have new and relevant evidence that was not previously part of the actual record during the prior decision. The new evidence in this case must prove or disprove a matter at issue in a claim.
You can only request a higher-level review (HLR) within one year of the date of the notification letter of the prior decision. The review is done by an experienced VA adjudicator who did not participate in the previous decision. The reviewing adjudicator re-examines the same evidence used in the prior decision and decides the claim without considering that initial decision. You are allowed to request an informal conference with the reviewer to identify any errors in law or fact made in the prior decision. Issues decided by the board are not considered for HLR.
Hire a VA Lawyer to Help with Your Claim
The VA claim-filing process can be complex for persons with limited experience. It is, therefore, best to seek the help of a VA benefits lawyer for help filing a claim or if you think your claim was wrongfully denied. A qualified VA lawyer can help you gather and present the evidence necessary to get your claim accepted. If your claim was denied, an attorney can represent you in the appeals and hearings, help identify errors in the decision, and provide additional evidence where necessary to get your claim approved.
VA accredits qualified lawyers who can represent claimants. A VA lawyer will only charge you after your claim has been accepted and paid, and consultation is always free. The charges often depend on the complexity of your case. However, most attorneys will charge you about 20% of the total past due benefits, i.e., retroactive payment for the period before your claim was approved. Future benefits or ongoing monthly payments are not charged. VA may pay your attorney directly for fees up to 20%.