April 3, 2018

What Are Considered ‘Assets’ When a Veteran Is Considering Applying for Aid and Attendance?

When veterans deal with certain challenges in life, as many others do as well, they might require support and assistance at home. A home care services aide would be a valuable asset for these veterans, especially those considered elderly, but for some, they might not be able to afford it on their own. For veterans who may qualify, the Aid and Attendance Benefit could be a great support system.

The Aid and Attendance Benefit can provide financial assistance to qualifying veterans to pay for home care support services. If the only thing keeping a veteran from hiring a home care services aide or even a visiting nurse is financial resources, and if they are considered a wartime veteran, the Aid and Attendance Benefit could be exactly what they need to rely on these types of services.

For many veterans, the question of assets is a major concern.

Income and assets cannot exceed certain threshold limits set forth by the Veteran’s Administration. There are various guidelines they use to determine whether a particular veteran applying for the Aid and Attendance Benefit is approved or not.

The question about ‘what are assets’ is one of the most confusing issues for many veterans.

Essentially, one vehicle and one house are usually excluded when the calculation for total value of assets are calculated within the Aid and Attendance benefit parameters. Life insurance policies are also excluded, mostly because these can only be claimed upon the passing of the beneficiary (which in this case would likely be the veteran’s widow or other dependents).

What are often considered assets often include:

Bank accounts,
CDs,
Trusts,
Stocks,
Bonds,
Annuities,
Savings accounts,
Checking accounts,
IRAs

But, these are not the only things the VA considers to be assets. Other things that are calculated into the asset total may include:

Pensions,
Retirement income,
Social Security,
Dividends,
Income from rental properties,
Interest income from investments,

It can certainly be confusing for many veterans looking into determining whether or not one individual may qualify based on the income and asset threshold limits. It’s important to note, though, that when it comes to CDs, trusts, stocks, and bonds, if the veteran or widow applicant for the Aid and Attendance Benefit, only the percentage of the CD, trust, stock, or bond that that individual actually owns is taken into consideration in the calculation. For example, if a veteran owns 25% of a trust that has a total value of $20,000, only $5,000 is included in the calculation for the veteran’s current assets.

If you or an aging loved one are considering Home Care Services in St, Charles IL, please contact the caring staff at Big Hearts Home Care today!

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Matthew Calcagno

Founder at Big Hearts Home Care

Matthew is a graduate of Robert Morris College and is a U.S. Navy veteran.Matthew founded Big Hearts Home Care after over a decade at HP. Spending time volunteering at his grandparent’s senior center inspired him to make a bigger difference in the quality of care seniors receive.His grandfather whom turned 100 in 2015 is still a major inspiration to him in seeing that service is provided with a family focused touch.

It is his passion and commitment to providing quality service that has awarded Big Hearts Home Care as Provider of Choice and Employer of Choice in the Chicagoland area. He believes that being an independently owned and operated company allows him the flexibility to manage the business in a way that better serves the clients.