Veterans with Babette (VIDEO)

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.