FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Medi-Cal Frequently Asked Questions
Veterans Pension Frequently Asked Questions
Fees & Cost for Assistance
Getting Started, Appointments & More information


Medi-Cal Frequently Asked Questions

It can be tricky to understand Medi-Cal requirements, qualifications and applications. Heritage Financial North can help. Learning all you can about the facts can help too. Read on to find out some of the most frequently asked questions we receive from the seniors we serve.

Does California law require seniors to use all of their finances before Medi-Cal helps pay for the costs of a nursing facility?
Fortunately no. Heritage Financial North's Advocates can help you understand Medi-Cal "spend down" and will recommend the best plan for you.

To qualify for Medi-Cal, what are my allowable asset-limits?
These amounts can change each year, but currently (2008) in order to receive benefits, allowable assets are limited to $2,000 for seniors who are single/widowed/divorced, and $106,400 for married couples. The state, when determining whether you meet Medi-Cal limits, considers certain assets "non countable" (e.g. IRAs) and some assets exempt (e.g. residence, vehicle, household goods). Ask Heritage Financial North to help you determine your Medi-Cal eligibility.

In order to receive my full Medi-Cal benefits, can I just give my money away to
family?
No. Doing so will cause ineligibility and impose penalties. Talk to one of our specialists to discover better solutions for you and your family.

What about our living trust? Does that exempt us from Medi-Cal requirements?
While it is a useful legal device in many instances, it does not protect your estate from Medi-Cal requirements and asset limits.

My spouse is in a nursing home already—is it too late for financial help, benefits, and solutions?
It's never too late for smart financial strategies. Although early planning is always better, steps can still be taken to assist you and ease your financial burden. Ask the financial care professionals at Heritage Financial North how to proceed.

Start of page

Should I try to file a VA claim by myself?
In our opinion and strongly reinforced by the VA, the answer is "No." The VA recognizes three groups to assist veterans in the preparation, presentation, and prosecution of claims: VA accredited attorneys, claims agents and the accredited representatives of recognized service agencies, such as The Veterans Coalition and through them, SVOA (Senior Veterans of America). The claims process can be very frustrating is you have not been trained and do not understand the law. You may be denied outright or your claim may take many more months to complete because of information request and exchanges between yourself and the VA. We very strongly recommend that you use the services of a VA accredited individual or organization, which includes state and county veterans service agencies. There is no fee for using an accredited resource.

Can you present and prosecute my claim before the VA?
Heritage Financial North does not get involved in the claim process, we will always refer a claimant to Veterans Service Officer's such as Senior Veterans of America, an affiliate of The Veterans Coalition who's National Service Officers are accredited by the VA's Office of General Counsel. As Volunteer Representatives for SVOA we understand the "winding Road" of the process and offer education, assistance and pre-planning to help ensure an expedient and accurate result.

What if the veteran is already receiving a VA disability pension?
There are two types of disability programs: Compensation and Pension. These two rules apply: (1) For Aid and Attendance purposes, the maximum amount of total VA payments cannot exceed the maximum Aid and Attendance benefit. If a claimant is currently receiving a disability payment, it will be deducted from the maximum and the remainder awarded. (2) If the Aid and Attendance claimant is already received, a service connected compensation amount that exceed the maximum Aid and Attendance benefit, the claimant can keep one of the other but not both. This usually means the greater amount of the two is retained. In either case, the disability payment counts as income for the purposes of determining total monthly income.

I divorced the veteran but receive his social security. Do I qualify?
No. Social Security rules are different from VA rules. Normally a divorce ends your eligibility. However, if a widowed spouse remarried on or after 1/1/1971 and the marriage was terminated prior to 11/1/1990, then the person is eligible as a surviving spouse.

What about previous marriages of either the veteran or a surviving spouse?
The VA will require documentation of all previous marriages (a marriage certificate or license) and evidence of how the marriage ended (a death certificate or a divorce decree.) This is documented to prevent cases of possible fraud or duplicate claims.

Why do you suggest not having more than a certain amount of net worth?
Technically, we don't. There is no absolutely right answer here. The VA uses several methods to determine how much net worth an individual may have. The often repeated story that a claimant may have up to $80,000 is false. SVOA can assist you to determine an acceptable amount for VA purposes.

Can you help me protect my assets?
The Financial Professionals at Heritage Financial North are surrounded by a team of Estate Planning & Elder Law Attorneys, Medi-Cal LTC specialist's, Veterans Service officers and other professionals, to ensure we help you develop the most appropriate planning to meet your specific needs. It is critical that those offering advice for you planning needs understands VA, Medi-Cal & IRS law. These programs are very different, and what may be acceptable under one program may have adverse consequences under the other programs.

One of my parents is a qualified veteran; however, it is the non-veteran spouse that requires assistance. They are both moving into assisted living to stay together. Do they qualify for Aid and Attendance?
It is always the qualified veteran that is due the benefit. The spouse only has individually vested rights when he or she becomes a survivor. In cases such as this, however there may be a way to make a legitimate claim based on the age and physical condition of the veteran. Please contact a SVOA Service Officer for a more detailed discussion.

How long does it take the VA to adjudicate my claim?
That's really hard to say. Each Regional VA Service Center is different in the time it takes to process an application, usually based on work load. We have had some applications take as little as 30 days and some take 6 months or longer. The average is approximately 4-6 months. SVOA proactively tracks claims and automatically responds to VA inquiries.

Can I receive military retirement pay and VA disability?
Yes, this is called concurrent receipt. Simply put, Concurrent Receipt means that qualified military retirees will be paid both their full military retirement pay and VA disability compensation. This recently passed law phases out the VA disability offset, which means that military retirees with 20 or more years of service and a 50% (or higher) VA rated disability will no longer have their military retirement reduced by the amount of their VA disability compensation.

Are pension and special benefits retroactive?
VA benefits are ordinarily retroactive to the first of the month after the VA receives the application. Ex: If the VA receives your application on August 15th and approves it in November, the first check will have the months of September and October on the first check. The November reimbursement will be made on December 1st and on the first of every month thereafter as long as eligibility is maintained. Recent changes in federal regulations also allow us to request retroactive effective dates up to one year in arrears if care expenses were being paid.

Start of page

Do I pay any fees to Heritage Financial North?
Our Services are always completely free of charge to those we assist. If our planning requires that we assist you in opening an account with a financial institution we are compensated by the financial institution in a similar matter as they would compensate their own agents. If any planning requires Legal Council, Tax Advise or other professional services, compensation would be directly between you and those providing the service.

Getting Started, Appointments & More information

How do I get started, schedule an appointment, or get more information?
Consultations with a licensed Heritage Financial North representative are offered by appointment only. For initial questions regarding your personal situation, for more information or to schedule an appointment for a free consultation, please contact us or call us Toll Free at (888) 579-0429.

Start of page