Question: What are the property tax benefits in Florida for the surviving spouse of a 100% disabled Veteran?
Answer: If a Veteran dies with a rating of 100% service connected disabled, then all Florida property taxes are exempt. This benefit carries over to the deceased Veteran’s surviving spouse. The surviving spouse is also exempt from paying property taxes. If the spouse wishes to move they take the tax value of the home they lived in with their Veteran spouse to their new residence!
Want to learn more about government benefits that might be available to you? Veterans Benefits, Medicare and Medicaid may be options for you. Learn more about them by watching this ten minute video. This video excerpt is from a lecture given by Babette Bach, Esq., sponsored by the Parkinson Research Foundation.
Question: What is Dependency and Indemnity Compensation and how do I qualify for it?
Answer: Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) is a tax free monetary benefit paid to eligible survivors of military service members who died in the line of duty or eligible survivors of Veterans whose death resulted from a service-related injury or disease. In order to apply for DIC in Sarasota or Manatee County, contact Terry Acton at 941-861-2899. At the time of application, you will be required to supply documentation that substantiates that the surviving spouse qualifies for the benefit. A surviving spouse can qualify for DIC if the surviving spouse was either: (1) Married to a service member who died on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training; OR (2) Validly married the Veteran before January 1, 1957; OR (3) Married the Veteran within 15 years of discharge from the period of military service in which the disease or injury that caused the Veteran’s death began or was aggravated; OR (4) Was married to the Veteran for at least one year, OR (5) Had a child with the Veteran. In addition, the surviving spouse must have (1) cohabited with the Veteran continuously until the Veteran’s death or, if separated, was not at fault for the separation AND (2) Is not currently remarried. Note: A surviving spouse who remarries on or after December 16, 2003, and on or after attaining age 57, is entitled to continue to receive DIC. The VA is now recognizing same sex legally married couples for all VA benefits.
If you need legal advice for VA benefits, Medicare, Medicaid planning, estate planning, probate or trust administration, please contact our office at (941) 906-1231 for an initial consultation.
Aid and Attendance is a pension for Veterans and surviving spouses who require regular care attendance form another person to assist with the activities of daily life such as eating, bathing, dressing, medication allocation, blind, or need for assisted living or skilled nursing care.
Aid and Attendance benefits can assist paying for the costs of a caregiver in the home, assisted living and skilled nursing costs.
Aid and Attendance benefit for wartime Veterans for 2014 is as follows:
If you need legal advice for VA benefits, Medicare, Medicaid planning, estate planning, probate or trust administration, please contact our office at (941) 906-1231 for an initial consultation.
Babette Bach will be the keynote speaker for a seminar on November 12, 2012 at Marina Jacks in Sarasota, Florida for our local Suncoast Paralegal Association. Topics will include Medicare and Medicaid benefits, along with Veterans Benefits and Estate Planning.
Ms. Bach is looking forward to speaking to the members of the association on such important topics. She appreciates the invite to lecture to paralegals from all fields of the law.
If you need legal advice for estate planning, Medicare, Medicaid planning, or VA planning, please contact our office at (941) 906-1231 for an initial consultation.
The VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 made changes to the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC). The Act added two new categories to the existing qualified veteran targeted group and made the WOTC available to certain tax-exempt employers as a credit against the employer’s share of social security tax. The Act allows employers to claim the WOTC for veterans certified as qualified veterans and who begin work before January 1, 2013.
The credit can be as high as $9,600 per qualified veteran for for-profit employers or up to $6,240 for qualified tax-exempt organizations, but the amount of the credit will also depend on a number of factors, including the length of the veteran’s unemployment before hire, the number of hours the veteran works, and the veteran’s first-year wages. The amount of the credit for qualified tax-exempt organizations may not exceed the organization’s employer social security tax for the period for which the credit is claimed.
For more information on your tax return and tax filing deadlines, visit www.irs.gov. Please contact our office at (941) 906-1231 for an initial consultation if you need legal advice.
Babette: In addition to being certified by the state of Florida as a board-certified elder law attorney, I’m certified by the Department of Veterans Affairs as a certified V.A. attorney. What that means is that I am able to represent veterans applying for benefits. There are V.A. benefits that are very beneficial to married veterans who were dishonorably discharged and served during wartime that are non-service connected. And that’s very important because if you develop Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s and you need care at home, you may be able to get substantial governmental benefits to cover your at-home care costs or your assisted-living care costs even though your disability has absolutely nothing to do with service-connected disability. Sometimes I get to tell the widows/widowers of deceased veterans that even though their husband or wife may have passed away 20 years ago they, as a surviving spouse of a war-time veteran, can also access these programs. The benefits are not quite as rich as they are for the veterans but they are very substantial, and it is one of the areas where I frequently council clients.
© 2026 Bach, Jacobs & Byrne, P.A.. Website design & management by 81 & Sunny.
