What s The Job Market For Veterans Disability Litigation Professionals

How a Veterans Disability Settlement Can Affect a Divorce Case

Jim's 58-year-old client is permanently disabled due to his service in the military. He receives a monthly pension benefit from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

He wants to know if an award from a jury will affect his VA benefits. The answer is not. However, it will have an impact on his other sources of income.

Can I Receive Compensation in the event of an accident?

If you've served in the military and are permanently disabled because of injuries or illnesses, you could be eligible for a veterans disability settlement. This settlement will help pay you for medical bills, lost income, and other costs that resulted from your illness or injury. The type of settlement you can receive will depend on whether your illness or injury is a result of a service connection, the VA benefits you are eligible to receive, and the amount to treat your injury or accident.

Jim, a 58-year old Vietnam veteran, was diagnosed as having permanent disabilities because of his two years of service. He isn't in a position to have enough space for work to qualify for Social Security Disability benefits, however, he is able to claim the VA Pension, which provides free medical treatment and cash dependent on the amount of money he needs. He wants to know how a personal injury lawsuit could affect his eligibility to benefit from this benefit.

The answer will depend on whether the settlement is a lump-sum or a structured one. Structured settlements are those that are made over a long period of time rather than as a single payment, and the amount paid by the defendant is used to offset any existing VA benefits. A lump sum settlement can impact any existing VA benefits since the VA will annually evaluate and consider it as income. If Jim has extra assets after the settlement is annualized then he is eligible to be eligible for the pension benefit. However the assets he has to be less than a certain threshold that the VA has set to establish financial necessity.

Do I really need to hire an Attorney?

Many spouses, service members and former spouses are confused about VA disability compensation and its effect on the financial aspects of divorce cases. Some people believe, for instance, that Department of Veterans Affairs compensation payments can be divided like a military retirement in divorce cases, or that they're "off limits" in calculating child support and alimony. These misconceptions could lead to serious financial errors.

It is possible to submit a claim for disability benefits on your own However, most disabled veterans would benefit from the assistance of a professional lawyer. A qualified veteran's disability lawyer will examine your medical documents and gather the required evidence needed to build a strong case at the VA. The lawyer can also help to submit any appeals you require to receive the benefits you're entitled to.

Most VA disability lawyers don't charge for consultations. In addition that the lawyer will normally be paid by the government directly out of your award of retroactive past-due benefits. This is an advantage of the Equal Access to Justice Act. Your fee agreement should clearly specify the amount of retroactive benefits that will be paid to your lawyer. A fee agreement may stipulate that, for example, the government would pay the attorney 20% of retroactive benefits. You are responsible for any additional amounts.

Can I Garnish My VA Benefits?

The VA offers monthly payments to disabled veterans disability lawsuit. The purpose of the payments is to compensate for veterans disability some of the effects of diseases, disabilities or injuries incurred during or aggravated by the veteran's military service. Like other income sources, veterans disability benefits can be subject to garnishment.

Garnishment is a legal procedure which allows a court make an order to an employer or government agency to omit funds from the wages of a person who is in debt and to send them directly to a creditor. In the case of a divorce, garnishment may be used to pay spousal support or child support.

There are certain situations where veterans' benefits could be garnished. The most frequent scenario involves those who have renounced their military retirement to receive disability compensation. In these situations the pension portion that is devoted to disability payments can be garnished to cover the obligations of family support.

In other cases, a veteran's benefit may be garnished to cover medical expenses or federal student loans that are past due. In these cases the court may be able to go straight to the VA to obtain the necessary information. It is crucial for disabled veterans to work with a reputable lawyer to ensure that their disability benefits are not removed. This will stop them from relying on payday lenders and private loans.

Can I Represent Myself in a Divorce Case?

VA disability settlements are a great help to veterans as well as their families. However they have their own set of complications. If a veteran is divorced and receives a VA settlement and is eligible, they should know what this will do to their benefits.

In this case the most important question is whether disability payments count as assets that can be divided in divorce. This issue has been settled in a variety of ways. One method is a Colorado court of appeals decision that found that VA disability payments are not property and cannot be divided in that way. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Howell, that garnishing a veteran’s VA disability payments to pay the purpose of alimony was in violation of USFSPA.

Another concern relating to this issue is the handling of disability benefits for child support and maintenance. The USFSPA and the Supreme Court both forbid states from counting disability benefits as income for these purposes. Certain states take an alternative approach. Colorado for instance takes all income sources together to determine the amount needed to support a spouse and then adds disability income to reflect their tax-free status.

It is also important for veterans to understand how their disability compensation will be affected if they get divorced and how their ex-spouses may take advantage of their benefits. By knowing about these questions, veterans disability law firms can guard their compensation and avoid unwanted consequences.