All paperwork filled out by daughter to the best of my ability, for 92 yr. old father who lives with me since he cannot take care of himself any longer. Seems he will be either broke or dead before he receive anything with all the paperwork and non VA assistance. No help from the local VA, they won't return call or emails. Any suggestions?
http://helpdesk.vetsfirst.org/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=2198
1. Check your County or State Veterans' agency to see if they provide help. We got assistance through the local County Veterans' Service Officers. A rep prepared the documents and e-mailed them to the local American Legion, which handled it from there. My father was approved for service connected disability in about 4 months.
I don't know if they'll become involved with an already filed request, but it's worth a try. They know who to contact, while for us, it's often like a treasure hunt.
2. Who are you trying to reach at the VA to get an updated status on the Aid & Attendance? It's often hard to decipher the role of different departments.
3. Assuming your father is also getting, or was registered for basic medical care, find out who the primary doctor is, what color the medical team is (green team, etc.), contact them and ask to speak with the Social Worker associated with that team. I've found them to be very helpful.
Jules,
1. It's illegal for someone to charge to prepare paperwork for filing with the VA.
2. Companies get around this by "reviewing" and "managing" financial assets, for which they CAN charge fees. So they prepare the application for free but in the process "must" review financial data. They they hook you for fees. It's sneaky and underhanded.
3. Follow my advice in paragraph no. 1 above. County and service organization reps will handle this for free, and they are much more familiar with VA operations than we could ever be. If you need help locating your county or state service officers, post back for guidance, but include your city/township/village as well as state.