Today, more than 18 million American military veterans are living in the United States. To address the needs of this population, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has expanded health, education, home loan, and other veteran benefits over the years.
VA disability payments are one of the most common entitlements veterans overlook. However, they are often one of the most essential to their well-being. Among the reasons that veterans miss out on VA disability benefits are the following:
- Confusion about the types of benefit programs and how to qualify
- Complexity of the application process
- Previous claim denial
Understanding How to Qualify as a Disabled Veteran
One misconception is that combat operations involvement is a requirement to be eligible. To qualify for VA compensation or disability, a veteran does not need to have seen combat. They also do not have to have an orthopedic condition such as missing limbs or damaged muscles.
Any veteran whose service received an honorable discharge from active-duty military service may qualify for VA compensation or disability benefits. Those who are eligible also include individuals in the National Guard or Reserve mobilized or activated for service.
You may currently cope with a condition or an illness that affects your mind or body and links back to your military service. In that case, you may have criteria qualifying you to receive a VA Disability Rating. Even common conditions like back or knee pain, GERD, PTSD, and more may relate to your military service.
Your service may cause problems that develop years later, like exposure to environmental toxins or Agent Orange. Even without active-duty medical records, these medical conditions can be service-connected by your physician and attorney. Whether your military service directly caused or only aggravated your disability, it is worth determining whether you merit service-connected disability benefits.
Have Your Attorney Handle All the Paperwork
Undergoing a claims process for VA disability benefits can be lengthy and daunting. Sadly, many veterans give up once they see the application. Free government services exist that help guide veterans through the proper paperwork. However, meeting with these service providers can sometimes be difficult because of high caseloads.
A negative first experience may cause significant delays, turning a veteran away from the process and much-needed benefits. A VA-accredited attorney with Elville and Associates can prove essential to your application’s success. They can be responsible for filling out the application correctly, attaching necessary documents, and submitting them ahead of deadlines.
Disability Claim Denial
It can be disheartening to receive an application denial. However, denials are often a result of filing incorrect forms or missing important application deadlines. It isn’t easy to know which documents are appropriate, especially if you have previously faced a denial of benefits.
A general appeal form to amend an initial denial contains various options that can further complicate your appeal. Your attorney will understand the highly sensitive nature of disability claims and the timing for Intent to File, Presumptive Period, and other appeal or supplemental claims. Failure to meet claim deadlines can result in continued denial of benefits.
Compensation and Pension (C&P) Exam
After overcoming complex claims paperwork and submitting all requirements, veterans may face another hurdle. The VA may schedule a Compensation and Pension (C&P) Examination.
The VA may require a veteran seeking disability benefits to have this medical exam, which assesses the severity of the veteran’s condition. The VA can deny a veteran’s application if they do not attend the evaluations. Results of the C&P Examination become part of your file, and attendance is crucial for claim approval.
Confusing Disability With Other VA Benefits
VA disability benefits do not prohibit employment. Veterans may confuse disability benefits with a VA program called Total Disability Individual Unemployability (TDIU). To qualify for TDIU, a veteran must be unable to keep or obtain a job. Veterans with a VA rating for a disability can receive benefits and still maintain employment without limitation.
Often a veteran will confuse Social Security Disability benefits with VA service-connected disability benefits. These are two separate programs, and you can be eligible for both. Qualifying for Social Security disability benefits will not automatically make a veteran eligible for VA disability benefits, and vice versa.
Mental health claims and treatment can also create confusing issues for veterans regarding their legal rights. A VA mental health rating and mental incompetence are not the same things. A VA rating for mental health will not put a veteran at risk of losing constitutionally protected rights. There are instances where an individual can be mentally incompetent without the presence of depression, anxiety related to chronic pain, or PTSD.
Mental health benefit claims are as important and valid as physical claims. Before you discount these powerful claims, consult with your attorney. They can help you understand your situation and protect benefits that may be due to you.
Filing VA claims can be stressful, particularly when you have a limited understanding of the forms, procedures, and deadlines. Other complex legal issues can also lead to benefits claim denials. Be sure to take a practical approach to processing applications that maximizes your ability to qualify and secure approval. US military veterans seeking VA disability have a much better chance at success with the guidance of an attorney, so be sure to seek guidance and counsel from the attorneys at Elville and Associates for peace of mind and a more seamless process from start to end.
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Elder law encompasses a wide range of legal matters that affect older individuals and families. Attorneys who practice elder law advocate for seniors and execute legal plans to assist them in living better lives.
Their expertise may encompass estate planning, as well as planning for retirement, Social Security, and long-term medical care. This specialty of the legal profession remains crucial for the well-being of this ever-increasing population.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 54 million seniors live in the U.S. This accounts for more than 16 percent of the total population. The number of American seniors is on track to grow to roughly 98 million by 2060.
Contemplating financial matters and making long-term life decisions via estate planning can be an emotional journey yet, at the same time, a rewarding one. Managing your assets wisely as you age is crucial as you plan to provide for the family members who will survive you. Qualified Maryland elder law attorneys, such as the attorneys at Elville and Associates, know how to plan strategies that address such concerns.
Keeping Records and Detailed Instructions
Many people want to ensure orderly asset protection, management, and eventual administration while having flexibility if circumstances change. Wealth preservation is the main priority, and it requires accuracy.
For example, over time, you may come to have assets in multiple states. You want to be sure to document the status of any community or tenant-occupied property. An inventory of small business assets and their dispersal may also be necessary. You’ll be discussing financial information and highly personal matters with your Maryland elder law attorney, so trust is critical.
Individuals often want to take steps to ensure their loved ones will inherit their estate. They may also seek to name their children as legal guardians in the event they become unable to handle their own affairs. Putting together detailed instructions can help reduce conflicts and minimize legal expenses. In turn, this may even help reduce taxes as well, ensuring heirs receive the full value of their portion of the estate.
Qualified Maryland elder law attorneys can provide guidance on each of these fronts.
Shaping an Estate Plan
No matter your estate’s size, creating a comprehensive estate strategy is critical, nor is estate planning a “set it and forget it” process. Family needs, as well as new issues regarding state laws and regulations, are always evolving. Periodic reviews of existing documents with a Maryland elder law attorney will keep your planning current in an ever-changing world.
Executing a will or acting as trustee of an estate frequently requires the support of a professional. Finding a Maryland elder law attorney whose primary focus is estate planning will give you options to achieve your goals. With knowledge of Maryland statutes, Elville and Associates’ attorneys can develop an asset protection strategy, update your estate plan over time, and administer your estate with efficiency.
However, keep in mind that putting your affairs in order requires more than creating a will.
Comprehensive estate plans may include other foundational documents, including trusts and health care directives. Long-term care planning provisions and specific durable powers of attorney are crucial, too. If you have minor children or a loved one with special needs, you can identify a guardian to care for them.
Your estate plan may include retirement housing preferences, long-term care plans, and how to cover those costs. Maryland elder law attorneys can also assist with decisions concerning probate and gift, income, and estate tax matters.
Designating Agents to Make Decisions on Your Behalf
While you are still healthy, work with an attorney to choose people you trust to make future financial and medical decisions on your behalf. If you ever become unable to handle your own affairs, these appointees will be there to support your best interests.
Should you ever face a dementia diagnosis, it may still be possible for you to sign legal documents. Capacity requirements for each legal document may vary, however. An experienced elder law attorney can help you understand and complete the proper legal documents in these cases.
10 Things to Look for in a Maryland Elder Law Attorney
- Provides a warm, empathetic approach and caring environment.
- Attorney is a counselor and not just a technician.
- Clients are provided with a unique estate planning or elder law planning experience, and not just a transaction.
- Provides an interactive planning process in partnership with clients — emphasis on client’s goals (not a paternalistic approach).
- Ensures Financial Advisor/ CPA — collaborative approach with the goal of an inclusive advisory team effort; works in good faith with Financial Advisors and/or CPAs to implement all appropriate solutions in the best interests of the client.
- Timely and structured process — encourages clients to complete the planning process and discourages procrastination.
- Asset alignment — planning attorney and firm’s asset alignment coordinator oversee and ensure proper asset alignment with all estate and elder law plans (client not abandoned with unfunded plan).
- Client education and understanding — to the extent possible, the attorney ensures that client understands and has at least a working knowledge of their planning documents and choices.
- Follow up — maintains ongoing contact with clients via annual continuing education and Client Care Programs to encourage clients to meet with attorney at least bi-annually and facilitates client-attorney contact. throughout the years via newsletter and other communications.
- Value-added services — provides client access to Client Care Program as the primary path towards achieving “perfection in planning” and access to the latest in contemporary estate planning ancillary solutions for “complete” estate planning, elder care planning, and special needs planning.
Selecting an attorney is an important decision and one you want to consider being a lifetime relationship. Partner with someone who offers clear communication, options, and ideas that align with your family’s and your values.
To schedule a consultation and learn how Elville and Associates can help you achieve your planning goals, visit us here, or contact Community Relations Director Jeff Stauffer at jeff@elvilleassociates.com or 443-393-7696 x117.
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Webinar – Guardianship What Is It, When Is it Appropriate, and What Are Some Alternatives?
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A power of attorney designates a trusted individual to make decisions or conduct transactions on your behalf. They could be related to personal finances, business operations, or medical needs and used for a single immediate purpose or an ongoing situation.
This may sound pretty straightforward. You might be tempted to download a free power of attorney form to take care of it when looking for services online. But will that be enough to ensure the document is legally recognized, important matters are handled quickly, and your specific instructions are followed? More than likely – no.
Understanding Powers of Attorney
Implementing Power of Attorney (POA) documents is an integral part of your estate planning process. All states recognize powers of attorney, but rules and requirements will differ from state to state. The POA document gives one or more individuals the legal authority to act as your agent on your behalf.
Depending on which POA you choose, you may limit the agent’s power to a particular activity. This might include things like real estate sales or broader applications.
A power of attorney may give permanent or temporary authority to the agent you appoint. You can set the POA up to invoke immediately. Or, you can have it activated when a future event, such as a physical disability, occurs. The latter is a “springing” power of attorney.
Other types of powers of attorney include limited, durable, and general POAs.
For example, a general POA permits the agent to deal with any matters on your behalf that state law allows. Under such an agreement, the agent may sign checks, handle bank accounts, sell property, manage assets, and file taxes when you are unable. This POA has a wide latitude of authority. Therefore, there needs to be coordination between you and your agent to ensure your best interests are always represented.
The better-known powers of attorney are durable and take effect if you are incapacitated. The word “durable” means the powers will remain intact even when you can no longer manage your affairs. There are two types of durable POAs; one handles financial matters, and the other manages medical affairs, often called a health care directive.
You also may rescind powers of attorney. However, most states will require written notice of revocation to the named individual or entity.
Consider the following scenarios when free, online powers of attorney don’t prove as helpful as you may have hoped.
Financial Power of Attorney
Suppose a business colleague wants you to take care of their business operations. You become responsible for making critical decisions while they are out of the country.
They give you POA by using a free online legal document that promises to contain everything you need to comply with state law. The document seems noticeably concise. You wonder why legal documents need to be so lengthy and expensive in the first place.
When you go to your friend’s bank to transfer funds, the bank denies you access. You discover why: The bank requires different forms and rules for a power of attorney. Your friend had no knowledge of these requirements, and now you won’t be able to contact them for several weeks.
When you track them down, they must fill out additional forms with the bank and get them notarized before you attempt any more transactions. The legal document failed.
Health Care or Medical Power of Attorney
You receive a call about a good friend who has suffered a head injury and needs urgent nursing home care. He is looking at long-term care costs between $5,000 and $8,000 a month for rehabilitation. However, you know he lives on a fixed income of only $2,500 a month from Social Security. Medicare doesn’t cover long-term care services, and his income is too high to qualify for assistance from Medicaid.
On top of facing a financial crisis, someone needs to make decisions about the level and cost of care he can afford. Your friend doesn’t have the capacity to make them in his current situation.
You know what he has expressed in the past about specific treatments and efforts to prolong his life. You even witnessed the online form he used for a healthcare power of attorney.
However, his family members contest the document. Meanwhile, the doctors won’t listen to you without more specific advanced health care directives and a signed HIPAA release form. Another legal document failure.
The Dangers of Free Online Documents
How can online documents be legally approved for use by the public but insufficient when you need to use them? The free power of attorney documents that you may have believed would prove helpful in the scenarios above only offered general information for the most basic needs. With so many variables in finances, business, and medical situations, the language is often not specific enough to address the unique problem.
When you get a POA through an estate planning firm, each document contains wording regarding several circumstances and refers to other critical documents, like living wills and trusts. Additional details instruct the person you’ve chosen to act on your behalf when dealing with decisions regarding banking and medical institutions or personnel. For example, it may permit them to set up another trust, reorganize assets, open and close banking or investment accounts, and require healthcare professionals to comply with your medical wishes.
Connect With an Estate Planning Attorney
A free online power of attorney could cost you valuable time, money, and frustration. Many other legal considerations determine how your power of attorney will work.
As opposed to a free power of attorney document online, the best way to establish powers of attorney is to contact the experienced estate planning attorneys at Elville and Associates. Your attorney can go over common pitfalls and discuss options on how to avoid them. They also understand the criteria for identifying the individuals or agents to represent your interests, help you identify your goals, answer your specific questions, and help create solutions and a path forward for you.
When you rely on legal documents to get an important job done or simplify decisions in an emergency, it more than likely won’t work as promised or intended. Consult with a qualified attorney at Elville and Associates to ensure you are prepared to handle any situation. Contact us here or reach out to us at 443-393-7696.
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The Essentials of Estate Planning and Elder Law
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For nearly a decade, people with disabilities have had the option to accumulate savings in a special tax-free account – without risking their means-tested public benefits. In 2024, the annual limit on how much money one can deposit into these savings vehicles, known as ABLE accounts, will rise, allowing individuals to add up to $18,000 per year.
What Is an ABLE Account?
Many people across the disability community rely on such government assistance as Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Yet having too many assets to their name can disqualify them from receiving these often critical benefits. For example, in most states, the resource limit to qualify for Medicaid is just $2,000. In 2014, Congress signed the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act into law to help address this issue.
Individuals with an ABLE account can save up to a total of $100,000 – tax-free – while remaining eligible for public assistance programs. Family members, friends, and others can make contributions to the account, too. The disabled person can then use these funds to help maintain their independence by spending them on disability-related expenses, including assistive technologies, education, transportation needs, vacations, legal fees, and health care.
Unlike a special needs trust (SNT), an ABLE account can be opened by the individual with the disability. This offers them more control over the account funds compared with an SNT. ABLE accounts and special needs trusts often work in tandem as part of a well-developed special needs plan. You’ll want to consult with your special needs planning attorney at Elville and Associates to discuss how these tools work together to help achieve the best results for your loved one with disabilities.
Starting in 2024, the annual limit on contributions to ABLE accounts will be $18,000, up from $17,000 in 2023. Through the end of 2025, ABLE account owners who work can contribute their employment income to these savings vehicles even beyond the per-year deposit limit. (Learn more about these rules under the ABLE to Work Act.)
The idea for these accounts derived from the concept of a 529 college savings plan. Similar to a 529 plan, funds in an ABLE account grow tax-deferred over time. In addition, each state administers its own ABLE account program.
To qualify, you must meet the Social Security Administration’s strict definition of “disabled.” You also must have incurred your disability before age 26. (Note that the age cutoff will shift to age 46 come 2026. According to estimates, this age adjustment will result in roughly 6 million more individuals becoming eligible to open these types of savings accounts.)
Why Open an ABLE Account?
People with disabilities are among those most at risk for financial disaster. According to research, just 10 percent of people of working age who are living with a disability are financially healthy.
ABLE Accounts, or 529A accounts, can serve as a form of future financial support for these individuals. Yet the vast majority of those who could benefit from these accounts remain unaware of them. As of 2022, 8 million people were eligible for this type of account, yet a mere 120,000 had one in place.
Get Support With ABLE Accounts
To learn more about setting up this type of savings account, consult with the special needs planning attorneys here at Elville and Associates – and also learn how an ABLE account can be part of a comprehensive estate and special needs plan for yourself of your loved one with a disability. Initial consultations are typically free and the most ideal way for your attorney to understand your individual or family’s situation, answer your specific questions, and create solutions and a path forward for you.
With the arrival of the new year, revisions to the annual gift tax and estate tax exclusions will be going into effect, as recently announced by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Gift Tax Exemption for 2024
Every calendar year, you can gift up to a certain amount to another individual (or individuals) tax-free. These gifts can include cash as well as other types of property. The IRS typically adjusts this gift tax exclusion each year based on inflation.
Starting on January 1, 2024, the annual exclusion on gifts will be $18,000 per recipient (up from $17,000 in 2023). A married couple filing jointly can double this amount and gift individuals $36,000 apiece in 2024.
This means that if an individual taxpayer gifts less than $18,000 to any one person during 2024, they generally don’t have to report the gift to the IRS. However, if they gift more than $18,000 to someone in 2024, the gift giver must then file a gift tax return. (Note that the gift giver may not necessarily have to pay a gift tax when giving a gift of more than $18,000 to someone. This is because they can choose to apply their lifetime gift tax exclusion. Learn more about lifetime gift tax limits below.)
2024 Federal Estate Tax Exemption
The federal estate tax exemption is also set to increase come 2024. It will rise to $13.61 million in 2024 (up from $12.92 million in 2023). For couples, this exemption will equal $27.22 million.
In other words, an individual’s estate valued at less than $13.61 million in 2024 will not be subject to federal estate taxes. Most people, of course, are not multi-millionaires. Today, heirs of only a small fraction of the most affluent Americans need worry about the impact of the federal estate tax. (State estate taxes are a different story; those vary depending on where you live.)
Imagine Vanessa, a successful, single business owner with a total taxable estate worth $16 million. As a wealthy individual, Vanessa would likely want to consider how federal estate taxes could affect her heirs. If she were to pass away in 2024, her $16 million estate would exceed the $13.61 million threshold and owe the IRS a federal estate tax.
This is why very affluent people may choose to gift assets to loved ones during their lifetime. It is one way to help cut down on the taxes their estate will need to pay upon their death.
Combined Gift and Estate Tax Exclusions
Over the course of your lifetime, you can give away only up to a certain amount before the IRS imposes taxes. This limit is called the “lifetime, or combined, gift and estate tax exemption.” Because it’s linked to the federal estate tax exemption, it, too, is set to increase in 2024 – to $13.61 million for individuals and $27.22 million for couples.
Perhaps Vanessa decides to give a vacation home worth $1 million to her only child. She could take advantage of the lifetime gift and estate tax exemption by deducting $982,000 from her combined exemption ($1 million minus $18,000 = $982,000). This would allow Vanessa to give away another $12.62 million in assets before meeting her lifetime gift exclusion limit ($13.61 million minus $982,000 = $12.62 million).
It’s important to note that this high lifetime gift and estate tax exclusion of $13.61 million is currently on track to decrease drastically at the end of 2025, to about $6 million. For high-net-worth individuals who die in 2026, there may be tax implications for their estates. (Read more about the sunset of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and strategies that may help avoid any negative impacts.)
Consult With Your Estate Planner
The rules regarding gift and estate taxes can get quite complex quickly. For instance, on top of federal taxes, some states – including Maryland – impose an estate tax and even an inheritance tax. Consult with the estate planning and elder law attorney at Elville and Attorneys. They can help you plan for your legacy by finding the most ideal tax planning strategies for your specific situation.


