When I was younger and could not grasp the concept of relatives, I never found it odd that I had so many Aunts and Uncles. Odd? Well… both of my parents only had one sibling and both of them had only been married once. Math-wise that makes four, yet over my life, in addition to those four, I have at least five other sets of aunts and uncles. It turns out that in addition to the obvious relatives I have, my parents raised me to call their closest friends, aunt and uncle. In addition to those, I even have a Grandma Mary. Mary is not a blood relative, but at 94, she has been a major part of my life for many years. Which makes what I am about to say both exciting and disappointing for me.

A few years ago Mary started to show signs and was diagnosed with dementia, this 90-year-old woman, sharp as a tack, was only now getting older. Mary spent some time in a nursing home and came out because her two daughters decided that she was better in their house under their supervision. Both daughters worked so it became increasingly difficult to care for Mary at home so they hired outside help. Unfortunately that care came at a price and it wasn’t long before Mary was out of money and they were dipping into their own pockets.

A few weeks ago I traveled back to my childhood home of Buffalo, New York, to see my sister visiting from California and meet my two-month-old niece! It had been a while since I had been home and, as usual, my parents had arranged for some quality time with our extended family. After dinner I was talking to my father about some of the many exciting things that I have been doing, including my work assisting my clients obtain a hidden Veterans Benefit to pay for the rising costs of healthcare for nursing home, assisted living and home healthcare. My father, like many others that I talk to at seminars, was in disbelief that this benefit even existed. I explained that this benefit was not only available to veterans but also to their widows. You know how people joke about that light bulb going off in some one’s head? Well, now I know that it is not only true but I also know the face they make when it does.

I had never met Mary’s husband, who it turns out served our country proudly in World War II. After hearing my success stories of obtaining benefits for veterans and widows of veterans, my father immediately thought of Mary. He called Mary’s daughters and son-in-law over to hear what I had to say about these benefits. As a result of Mary’s health issues that required the aid and attendance of another, Mary – who never served in the military – but was married to someone that had, was eligible for $1,056 a month, tax free, to assist with the cost of her care.

Embarrassingly, I have been representing veterans and widows of veterans in their pursuit of this benefit for over four years and failed to see the positive impact it could have for my closest of friends and relatives. Unfortunately, as I tell all of my clients and seminar attendees, the Department of Veterans Affairs is not advertising this benefit. The VA is not providing a lot of education on how to qualify or even who can qualify. Do not take for granted that everyone who could qualify for these benefits knows the benefits are out there.

I assign this task to all the readers of this story: If you know someone who needs additional benefits to help pay for catastrophic health care costs, ask them if they or their spouse was a veteran. There are minimal requirements to qualify and the Veteran did not have to be a career veteran, did not have to serve in-country or even be injured during duty.

The Thom L. Cooper Company has five VA-accredited attorneys who can assist your or those you love. With proper planning and the assistance of VA-accredited attorney, the amount received could be as between $1,056 to $1,949 each month, tax-free. Ask us for our free video discussing this little-known benefit.