Noteboom The Law Firm

Court Orders VA to Include Families in Fiduciary Decisions

Last month it was reported just how little oversight the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) exercises over its fiduciary program. This lack of oversight has proven to cause many problems between the VA and the family members of those veterans for whom the fiduciary is appointed. Last week, a federal appeals court addressed this issue and ruled against the VA's position.

The Court told the VA they were to relax their standards regarding benefit decisions when appointing fiduciaries for incompetent veterans. Fiduciaries are appointed to manage benefits for veterans declared incompetent. There is currently $3.2 million spread across 110,000 fiduciary accounts.

Many family members of those incompetent veterans, however, do not want the VA to appoint the fiduciary in the first place. Instead, many family members want to be given control of their respective veterans' accounts.

Few families have sued the VA for control. The VA maintains families can offer their input into the decision, but in the end, the VA retains jurisdiction over the appointment and its decision cannot be judicially reviewed. The United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in Washington ordered the VA to reconsider their position.

The Court is also forcing the VA to accept "notices of disagreement" when appointing fiduciaries. The Court ruled families are not to be cut out of fiduciary appointment decisions. The VA maintains all fiduciary decisions are made in the best interests of incompetent veterans.

If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, a South Florida disability attorney from LaVan & Neidenberg is ready to help. To learn if you are entitled to certain programs and benefits contact our veterans disability rights firm today - 1-888-234-5758.