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VETERAN BENEFITS, NEWS
THINKING OF FILING A CLAIM???
HERE ARE SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER!
From the Stateside Legal.org website
Can I file a claim myself?
Do I need a lawyer? The initial filing of a claim is simple. You
may file the appropriate forms yourself or get help from an accredited
Veterans Service Officer who will likely work for a Veterans Service
Organization or a State (County) Veterans Service Office. You are not
allowed to pay anyone to represent you at this stage of the process.
But before you consider filing the claim yourself, you
might consider another set of requirements before you file a claim.
You should be well organized and prepared to deal with a a lot of
paperwork, including copying of files and searching for evidence. It
helps if you:
• are familiar with searching for records on the internet,
• know how to use a word processor,
• own or have access to a scanner and copier
• are confident that you have the patience to deal with details.
The VA process, even at its best, is slow,
prone to error, and requires constant attention. You are much more
likely to be successful if you can organize your information and keep good
records of interactions with VA. If you believe that you meet these
requirements, I encourage you to apply for your deserved benefits. If
you have trouble with these kinds of tasks, you may want to seek help from a
VSO or your state (county) veterans service office.
Now...How do you know whether it's worth filing a
claim?
Here are the basic requirements:
1. Eligible military service: You must have done military
service, and you must have a discharge that is other than dishonorable.
If your discharge is other than honorable but not dishonorable, you may be
qualified for only some types of benefits. Challenging your discharge
status is another issue for purposes of this writing.
2. Current "condition": YOU MUST HAVE A CURRENT INJURY OR
ILLNESS (CONDITION) that can be connected to your military service.
This means that you should have a fairly clear diagnosis. It should be
stated in a medical record prepared by a qualified health care provider
(preferably a doctor). The more precisely defined the condition is in
the record, the better.
3. Evidence: YOU MUST HAVE EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT YOUR CLAIM.
The best evidence is an event that is recorded in a Service Medical Record
(SMR). This is a detailed description of the cause of the injury or
illness leading to your condition how it was treated, and any residual
effects of the event. If the condition is related to a non-combat
event, you will need documentation of:
4. A clear service connection: Your medical evidence must be
clear enough to prove that your current condition if connected to the
in-service event. This is called "service connection or nexus."
If you can't prove the service connection, you will not receive benefits.
See page 7 for more detail....
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VETERAN LEGISLATION/NEWS
The following is an update on
all bills related to Veteran issues that were signed into CA law by Governor
Jerry Brown in this 2011-2012 Legislative Session. The update is
provided to us by Pete Conaty & Associates, our VVA-CSC Veteran Legislative
Advocate.
►►AB 167 - Cook - Stolen Valor Act - Relates to existing law which
provides that any person who falsely represents himself or herself to have
been awarded any military decoration, with the intent to defraud, is guilty
of a misdemeanor. Provides that those provisions shall be known as the
State Stolen Valor Act. Requires that certain elected officers forfeit
their office upon conviction of any of the crimes specified in the act. -
Sponsored by VVA - CSC.
►►AB 188 - Block - Property Tax Exemption: Residence: Veterans
- Amends property tax law that provides for the exemption from property
taxation of the principal residence of a disabled veteran, a veteran's
spouse, and the unmarried surviving spouse. Specifies that
property is an unmarried surviving spouse's principal residence if
the unmarried spouse would principally reside at that property if not for
his or her confinement to a hospital or other care facility. Relates
to the date when property becomes eligible for the disabled veterans'
exemption.
►►AB 199 - Ma - School Curriculum: Social Sciences:
Filipinos in WWII - Encourages instruction in social sciences for grades
7 to 12, inclusive, to include instruction on WWII and the role of Filipinos
in that war. Encourages the instruction to include a component drawn from
personal testimony.
►►AB 387 - Bonnilla - Pupils: Excused Absences: Military
Deployment - Amends existing law requiring a pupil to be excused from school
for specified types of absences and prohibits those absences from generating
certain state payments by deeming them as absences in computing average
daily attendance. Includes spending time with an immediate family
members, who is an active duty member of the uniformed services and has been
called for, is on leave from, or has immediately returned from deployment to
a combat zone, as another type of excused absence. Relates to absence
length.
►►AB 398 - Morrell - State Fire Marshal: Certification - Authorizes
the State Fire Marshal to accept certification by the U.S. Department of
Defense as a firefighter as an alternative for the fire protection personnel
training and certification standards for the position of Firefighter I
established by the State Fire Marshal.
►►AB 629 - Monning - Authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to enter
into an agreement with the Fort Ord Reuse Authority for the veterans
cemetery project to be under the sole charge and control of the authority.
►►AB 697 - Perez - Veterans: Home Acquisition: Interest of
Record - Amends the Veterans' Farm and Home purchase Act of 1974.
Authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to acquire a home for the
purpose of refinancing an existing mortgage loan that is not an existing
loan acquired under the act. Requires the department to adopt
and publish rules and regulations.
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