NVLSP

News Room

NVLSP News Articles

Veteran Chooses Jail Over Giving His Disability Money to Ex-Wife

A southwest Florida veteran went to jail Wednesday in order to keep all of his VA disability check. It's all because he and his wife are divorcing and she wants half. Under federal law, the money is exempt from alimony payments. But state law says she may be entitled to it. ABC 7 contacted the National Veterans Legal Service Program in Washington D.C. They say it's an issue which has been argued across the country. U.S. Title 38 says VA benefits are exempt from taxation, claims of creditors, and other legal processes. It makes no exception for alimony. [more]

Released 9/18/14 | Tags:

Debate Over Veteran Deaths Could Affect VA Claims

Although it seems certain that VA hospitals offered substandard care to veterans, some of whom died while waiting months for treatment, getting compensation in court is likely to prove a tough fight for the stream of veterans and survivors expected to sue the government in the coming months. “If you give people the impression that this is easy, they’re going to be real frustrated,” said Ronald Abrams, joint executive director of the National Veterans Legal Services Program. “It’s combat — the VA is not playing nice, because you’re in court and it’s an adversarial process.” [more]

Released 9/18/14 | Tags: Veteran's Benefits

Parks v. Shinseki

Issue: Whether the Federal Circuit erred in requiring issue exhaustion during nonadversarial proceedings before the Department of Veterans Affairs Board of Veterans’ Appeals. Brief amicus curiae of National Veterans Legal Services Programs filed on February 12, 2014. [more]

Released 5/27/14 | Tags:

Is Obama to Blame for Failures at the VA?

Failure is an orphan—and there are few failures more toxic than those of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The agency, ostensibly created to help veterans heal from the wounds of war, is plagued by a backlog of claims from soldiers seeking help, leaving them to wait months or even years for compensation.The government’s long-standing failure to address the damage done to veterans by Agent Orange mirrors the larger failure of the VA. It spans generations and party affiliations, and every effort to fix it comes with unintended consequences. “This goes across party lines,” said Ronald Abrams, the joint executive director with the National Veterans Legal Services Program, and a former VA official who has worked on veterans claims cases for 40 years. “Democrats and Republicans have allowed this festering sore to continue.” [more]

Released 5/20/14 | Tags:

News & Media

Subscribe to our newsletter
Newsletter Archives