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How a Veterans Disability Settlement Can Affect a Divorce Case

Jim's 58-year-old client is permanently disabled due to his time in the military. He receives a monthly pension from the Department of veterans disability lawyers Affairs.

He wants to know if a jury award will impact his VA benefits. It will not. But it will have some impact on the other sources of income he has.

Do I have the right to receive compensation for an Accident?

If you've been in the military and are now permanently disabled because of injuries or illnesses, you may be eligible for a veteran disability settlement. This settlement will help pay you for medical bills, lost income, and other expenses that resulted from your injury or sickness. The type of settlement you'll receive depends on whether your condition is service-connected or non-service connected, the VA benefits you qualify for, and what your accident or injury will cost to treat.

Jim who is a 58-year old Vietnam veteran was diagnosed with permanent disabilities due to his two years of service. He does not have enough work space to be eligible for Social Security Disability benefits, but he has an VA Pension that offers cash and medical treatment for free according to his financial need. He would like to know if a personal injury settlement could affect his ability to be eligible for this benefit.

The answer is contingent upon whether the settlement is in the form of one lump sum or a structured settlement. Structured settlements are those that are made over a period of time instead of in one payment, and the amount paid by the defendant is used to offset any existing VA benefits. A lump sum payment can impact any existing VA benefits since the VA will annually evaluate and consider it as income. In any event, if extra assets are left over after the twelve-month period after the settlement is annually recalculated, Jim may be eligible to apply again for the Pension benefit, Veterans Disability Settlement but only if his assets fall below a threshold that the VA is able to agree establishes financial need.

Do I need to hire an attorney?

Many spouses, service members, and former spouses have concerns about VA disability benefits and their effect on financial issues in divorce. Some people think, for Veterans Disability Settlement instance, that Department of veterans disability litigation Affairs compensation payments are split like the military retirement in divorce cases or that they're "off limits" when calculating child support and Alimony. These misconceptions may lead to serious financial mistakes.

While it is possible to file an initial claim for disability benefits by yourself, the majority of disabled veterans disability compensation require the assistance of an experienced lawyer. A qualified veteran's disability lawyer will examine your medical records and gather all the necessary evidence to make a convincing case at the VA. The lawyer will also be able to make any appeals you require to obtain the benefits you're entitled to.

The majority of VA disability lawyers do not charge for consultations. The government also pays the lawyer directly from the benefit of retroactive benefits. This is an advantage of the Equal Access to Justice Act. Your fee agreement should specify clearly the proportion of retroactive benefits that will be paid to your lawyer. For instance your fee agreement may state that the government will pay the lawyer up to 20% of retroactive benefits or award. You will be responsible for any additional costs.

Can I Garnish My VA Benefits?

The VA pays a monthly amount of compensation to disabled veterans. The purpose of the payments is to offset some of the effects of diseases, disabilities, or injuries sustained during or aggravated by a veteran's military service. The benefits for veterans disability case with disabilities are subject to garnishment, just like other incomes.

Garnishment is a court-ordered procedure that an employer or government agency stop cash from the pay of a person who is in the process of paying an obligation and pay it directly to the creditor. In the event of a divorce garnishment may be used to pay child or spousal support.

There are some situations where the benefits of a veteran can be encashable. The most common scenario involves the veteran who has waived their military retirement in order to receive disability compensation. In these cases the part of pension that is allocated to disability payments can be garnished to cover the obligations of family support.

In other instances, a veteran’s benefits can also be seized to cover medical expenses or federal student loans that are over due. In these situations, a court may be able to go straight to the VA to obtain the necessary information. A disabled veteran should employ an experienced lawyer to protect their disability benefits. This will stop them from relying on payday lenders or private loans.

Can I Represent Myself in a Divorce Case?

VA disability settlements are a tremendous help to veterans disability law and their families. However, they come with certain complications. For example in the event that a veteran gets divorced and receives a VA disability settlement, they should know how this will affect their benefits.

One of the major issues in this context is whether or not the disability payments count as divisible assets in divorce. This issue has been settled in a couple of ways. One way is by a Colorado court of appeals decision, which found that VA disability payments are not property and therefore cannot be divided in this way. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Howell that garnishing a veteran's VA disability payments for an alimony payment was a violation of USFSPA.

Another concern with this issue is the treatment of disability benefits to children for maintenance and support. The USFSPA and the Supreme Court both forbid states from counting disability payments as income to be used for this purpose. However, some states have chosen to take the opposite approach. For instance, Colorado adds up all sources of income to determine how much in support a spouse requires and then adds disability benefits to take into account that they are tax free.

Finally, it is important for veterans to be aware of how their disability compensation will be affected if they get divorced and how their spouses who divorced them can take advantage of their benefits. By being informed about these issues, vets can protect their compensation and avoid the unintended consequences.