Free guide
Is there VA money for care at home? Five short answers
A two minute read for families who have only just wondered whether the VA helps pay for care at home. Five questions, answered plainly, and no forms.
For: Veterans and surviving spouses at the very beginning. Written by Martin Mudd, Partner, Certified Dementia Practitioner, and our Veterans benefits lead.
What is Aid and Attendance, in one paragraph?
It is a monthly amount the VA adds to a pension for wartime veterans, and for their surviving spouses, who need help with everyday things like bathing, dressing, eating or medication. It is money in the household, not a service the VA sends round, so families use it to pay for care at home.
Can a surviving spouse claim it, or only the veteran?
A surviving spouse of a qualifying wartime veteran can claim, at a lower monthly rate. This is the single most missed part of it. If your husband served and has passed, this may still be yours.
Does it pay for care in your own home?
Yes. It is not tied to a nursing home or an assisted living building. What you are already paying a caregiver counts as the kind of expense the VA is looking at, which is why families who have been quietly draining savings often qualify when they assumed they earned too much.
How long does approval take?
Several months is normal, and it moves at its own pace. Approved claims are commonly paid back to the date the claim was filed, so filing sooner matters more than waiting until care is fully arranged.
What is worth having to hand before any call?
Three things: the discharge papers, a rough monthly figure for what care is costing now or is about to cost, and marriage or death certificates if the claim is a spouse's. Nothing else is needed to have a first conversation.
Ready for the detail? Martin's full roadmap
The longer guide walks the four VA routes step by step, with the form numbers, the documents checklist and a printable version. Start there if you already know this applies to your family.
Open the full VA roadmapWhere should we send it? Martin Mudd reads every reply to this one.
What happens after you download it
- Today. The guide arrives, with one line telling you which part to read first.
- Over the next two weeks. A short series of emails on the parts families get wrong. Five of them, then it stops.
- Whenever you are ready. Ask Martin whether this is you with Martin Mudd. No sales script, and no pressure to start care that week.
Ask Martin whether this is you with Martin Mudd
30 minutes with Martin Mudd. By phone. Veterans and surviving spouses.