First, are you eligible?
A veteran must have two years of
active duty under her belt as of a 1981 service entry.
You must have a disability that the VA
determines is service-connected on active duty, or was
made worse by active military service. You must also have a discharge
that the VA determines was under other than dishonorable
conditions. For example, you are unlikely to qualify for
disability compensation if you have a bad conduct discharge.
The disability compensation conditions
are less strict than eligibility for some other benefits such as a VA
pension or VA home loans. In both cases, you must have served on
active duty during a wartime period such as the Korean War, the
Vietnam War or the Gulf Wars.
You have three basic options when you
start a claim. You can represent yourself “pro se” or give your
Power of Attorney (POA) to a Veterans Service Organization or an
attorney.
Let's look at the pros and cons of each.
Pro Se
1, You have complete control of your
claim. If you have to appeal to the Board of Veteran Appeals (BVA)
you get special consideration because you do not have professional
representation. You can also ask the BVA for a reconsideration of its
ruling, something a veteran service organization or attorney cannot
do.
You will be able to go to the VA's
Veteran Center that has many experienced counselors who can access
most VA claims databases.
In addition, you can usually see the
same VA counselor as the claim progresses. The Veterans Center is
open 5 -days a week and doesn't close during local or national VA
conventions or similar events.
You will have to do all of your own
research and file the claim using the On-line VONAPP or the VA paper
Form 21-526. You will also have to coordinate the completion of
Disability Benefits Questionnaires (DBQ) with your physicians and
clinicians to document your claim.
You will have to set up a file system
for incoming VA letters and outgoing claims documents. You wail need
access the Internet, a PC and a printer, preferably a laser
multifunction printer. You will need software that is able to edit
postscript document format (PDF) documents such as Adobe Acrobat.
Attorney
An attorney can
probably provide the best help up front on a claim. If
an attorney takes your case, it is a good sign that your case has
merit. The attorneys have paralegals who will help you with paperwork
and answer questions by phone. You can expect a higher level of
service with an attorney.
Most attorneys
will also be able to refer you to doctors who understand the VA's
documentation requirements and know how to properly complete a DBQ.
The VA Regional Office is likely to take attorney representation more
seriously than a claim that is represented pro se or by a veterans
organization.
The attorney will
receive 20 per cent of any retroactive pay that you receive. However,
this does not apply to monthly compensation.in contrast, other private practice
attorneys take about 1/3 of a settlement plus administrative costs.
Most veteran
attorneys do not provide this services to become wealthy Most have
been veterans and understand the need for these legal services to
vets.
Veteran Service Organizations
Last but not least
are the service organizations such as the Disabled American Veterans
(DAV), the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the American
Veterans (AMVETS). There are many others. Most of the states also
have state level veteran service officers(VSO).
These veteran
organizations usually require POA. However, this does not restrict
you from talking to the counselors in the Veteran Center, On the
other hand, an attorney will probably want all conservations and
documentation to go through the attorney's office.
The exception of
the state service organization who usually will not ask for POA.
Have found most service organizations to be the least effective way
to staff a claim. Many of these offices have limited hours and may be
open only 4-days a week. During a VA conventions the entire office
may close. One office rotated its VSOs every 90-days and a vet could
have 20 different VSOs or more during the life cycle of a claim.
Service
organizations are unlikely to help you write or review claim
documentation. Service orgs will represent you during a local BVA
hearing, but many VSOs lack legal training. This is true in FL.
However, in NY a VSO must have legal training.
The state VSOs are
a different animal. Many will help you without requiring POA.Most are unlikely to represent you during a BVA hearing.
So, if you are
representing yourself pro se, you can still get advice from both
counselors in the vet center and from state level VSOs. In the case
of the writer, this situation worked best, but it is not for
everyone.
Is Pro Se is for me?
Fist of all can
you or your significant other write well? Can you distinguish facts
from opinion? How good is your grammar and reading comprehension?
The BVA has strict
rules on evidence. The BVA will throw out any opinion other
than expert that you try to present as fact.
Try some of these tests before you dive into pro se.
Check out the
following grammar and reading comprehension tests and your ability to
distinguish fact from opinion.
If you are having difficulty with these
tests, suggest you engage and attorney. Regardless of whether you
start the claim with an attorney, you will probably eventually need
one if you appeal to the BVA, which provides legal administrative
hearings.
sources:
http://vabenefits.vba.va.gov/vonapp/main.asp
VA Form 21-526
http://www.grammar-monster.com/free_grammar_tests.html
http://www.ereadingworksheets.com/free-reading-worksheets/fact-and-opinion-worksheets/
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