Two Benefits That Provide Care for Veterans

There are various government programs and tax benefits available to those who provide significant care for veterans and their family members. If you are caring for a veteran at home, a recent article discusses the benefits you may be eligible to receive.

If the veteran you are caring for would otherwise be eligible to receive care in a nursing home, you may be eligible to receive the Veteran-Directed Home and Community Based Services program. Through this program, veterans are able to manage their own care. Importantly, veterans are able to select, hire, and compensate their own caregivers.

A wartime veteran or his spouse may also be eligible for the Aid and Attendance benefit. This benefit assists in paying for any necessary in-home caregivers, or care in an assisted living facility or nursing home. Even family members of the veteran or spouse may collect under this benefit. The Aid and Attendance benefit pays a maximum of $2,054 per month of tax free income for a married veteran, $1,732 for a single veteran and $1,113 for a widowed spouse.

In order to qualify for the Aid and Attendance benefit, the veteran must have served at least 90 days of active duty service, with one day during a period of wartime (the veteran does not have to have been in combat). Further, the veteran or spouse that you are caring for must require assistance with daily activities such as dressing and bathing. The VA also has income and asset requirements. However, proper planning with an elder law attorney can help in becoming eligible for those benefits.