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Caring For Generations

Helping Veterans and Surviving Spouses Obtain the Benefits They Deserve

On Behalf of | Jan 10, 2017 | veterans estate planning

A very important part of our law practice at Rebecca W. Geyer & Associates is providing assistance to veterans and their surviving spouses  to help them obtain the VA benefits they deserve. The Department of Veterans Affairs is made up of three areas. Our firm’s focus is with the Veteran’s Benefits Administration.

“For tax purposes, a veteran is an individual who has served at least 24 continuous months in active duty and has not been released with “dishonorable” status upon discharge,” explains thesimpledollar.com’s “Ultimate Tax Guide for Veterans”. Spouses, children, and parents of a deceased or disabled veteran are also eligible for benefits, which include but are not limited to:

  • Disability Pension
  • Disability Compensation
  • Education and Training Allowances
  • Dependents and Survivors
  • Life Insurance
  • Housing Grants
  • Compensated Work Therapy Program

Not only is service-connected disability compensation tax-free on both federal and state levels, disabled veterans may be eligible to claim a federal tax refund, based on two situations:

  1. There has been a retroactive determination of an increase in the disability benefit
  2. The combat-disabled veteran has been granted combat-related special compensation, after an award for concurrent retirement and disability.

According to Leo Shane III, writing in Military Times“The sweeping tax reform measure passed by Republican lawmakers this week includes few items specific to service members, but significant repercussions for military families in years to come. While some of the rules for mortgage interest deductions have been changed in the new tax reform plan, with some deductions for moving expenses eliminated, there is an exemption for military families who often have to move frequently, Shane points out.

We at Geyer Law are focused on helping veterans and their families understand – and claim – the benefits they deserve.