How to expedite an Aid and Attendance Claim is somewhat of a trick question. Everyone wants to know if something can be done to speed up a VA decision.
This is understandable. Aid and Attendance is a generous pension that many applicants badly need to help pay for care. And, after all, everyone knows the horror stories. We’ve all heard about the application that was lost or sat on someone’s desk for 18 months. But those horror stories are the exception and not the rule.
Here Is The Truth About Expediting A Claim.
Only a few ways exist to expedite an Aid and Attendance claim.
1) The veteran was a prisoner of war
2) The applicant is terminally ill
3) The applicant is under financial duress, which means they are receiving eviction notices or the utility company is about to turn off the lights.
I should really add this to the Aid and Attendance myth file, right next to net worth.
I make it a point to browse the internet and the various companies that claim they can expedite an Aid and Attendance claim. I came across one such company today.
According to their website, this company can, “communicate directly with the VA on your behalf, streamlining and shortening what many feel is a complex process…”
This is flat-out wrong. When an application is submitted, that application goes into a line like every other application. The VA doesn’t bestow favorable treatment on an application because you used a company to assist with the process.
Still interested, I called the company. I was genuinely curious if they had some inside connection with a very large federal bureaucracy. When I asked the nice lady that answered the phone how long applications take, she told me the average time was 3-6 months.
Her answer made me chuckle. 3-6 months is the average time the VA takes to process an Aid and Attendance application. I know this because I’ve reviewed literally thousands of applications. So, essentially, this company’s expedited processing time is actually the national average.
When the nice lady offered to put me on the phone with a benefit expert, I politely declined.
Here Is Some More Truth
Aside from the three ways mentioned above, how to expedite an Aid and Attendance claim has an easy answer. You must perfect the claim. This means you must give the VA exactly what they want, in the way they want it. It means you must mail the application to the correct VA office.
If you want to expedite your VA claim, an Eligibility Analysis should be the first step.
An Eligibility Analysis is a report that details exactly what VA benefits the potential applicant is eligible for. The analysis explains the eligibility criteria and highlights why the potential applicant meets those criteria. Before you apply for VA benefits, we suggest you understand what you are applying for and, more inportanly, if you are eligible.
To schedule a free consultation, contact VA Legal Team today.