The Connecticut Elder Law Blog

Pulling with Pride

Keenan Law, LLC is proud to sponsor "Pulling with Pride".

This initiative will raise funds for veterans and active-duty members of the military (through give2thetroops.org and the VFW) as well as raise funds for the purchase of a new shell for the Glastonbury High School Crew Team.

The shell will be named "Valor". 

Please click here if you'd like to help out as well.

New CT Law for VA Aid & Attendance Benefits

I'm happy to report that Governor Malloy recently signed a bill into law which mandates that the State ignore any income from the VA's Aid & Attendance pension benefit program when determining eligibility for several government programs.

Fortunately, the list of government programs includes Medicaid, SAGA cash, the Connecticut Home Care Program for Elders and the State Supplement for SSI!

VA's "Aid & Attendance" Often Overlooked

When planning for the financial aspects of long-term care, don't forget to explore "Aid & Attendance Pension" benefits offered by the Veterans Administration.  This is certainly not something to pooh-pooh since the cash benefits can go as high as $30,480 annually.  The benefits under this program were enhanced in 2010.

The basic eligibility requirements are...

1.    90 days of active-duty service, one of which was during wartime;

2.    Limited assets and income;

3.    You were not dishonorably discharged;

4.    You need regular assistance from another person;

5.    You are permanently and totally disabled, or over the age of 65.

Please take another look at #5 and note that, contrary to popular belief, the disability does not have to be service-related.  In fact, there has been no need for the disability to be service-related since 1920.

I also want to point out that the name of this program is misleading; this is not like a conventional pension since it requires a disability (or over 65) and it is means-tested.  But it is like a normal pension in the sense that it delivers a cash amount to you every month.

I found a nice write-up on the particulars of this program here.

Deceased Veterans Now Guaranteed Gravestone Markers

Thanks to a nine-year-long effort on the part of West Hartford, Connecticut resident, Tom Guzzo, the United States Congress has approved legislation that will guarantee U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs gravestone markers for families of deceased veterans. 

The bill also provides medallions or bronze plates for veterans' headstones that were privately purchased.

Guzzo was motivated to take up this cause in 1989 when his father, Agostino Guzzo, died at the age of 70 after rebuilding roads in the Philippines during World War II.  The family then discovered that Mr. Guzzo did not qualify for a government-funded marker.

Congratulations to Tom Guzzo for his patient persistence in pursuing this campaign.  We're proud to know that the efforts of a Connecticut resident resulted in this legislation.

A full article on this story appears in the Christmas Day edition of Newsday.