You served, or your spouse did
If he served, there is probably money for this. Most families never find out.
Aid and Attendance is a monthly VA benefit added to a pension for wartime veterans and surviving spouses who need help with daily activities. It can be used to pay for in home care. Martin Mudd handles these applications for families in Central Florida, from the first question through to approval.
Martin Mudd is our partner, certified dementia practitioner, and our veterans benefits lead, and we are a VA certified provider. The reason this page exists is simple: families sit on a benefit they qualify for because one letter looked like a wall.
Two facts that change conversations. Surviving spouses can qualify, not just the veteran. And the care your family is already paying for out of pocket may itself be the qualifying expense that opens the benefit. If you have been quietly draining savings for a year, start here first.
How this goes
1. One call with Martin, not a form
Service period, marital status, current care costs, roughly what the household income and assets look like. He will tell you on that call whether this is worth pursuing. Sometimes the answer is no, and you get it straight.
2. We gather the file together
Discharge papers, marriage and death certificates where relevant, the physician statement, and evidence of care expenses. Martin tells you exactly which version of each document the VA accepts.
3. It gets filed properly the first time
Most delays are incomplete files rather than rejections. Filing complete is the whole strategy.
4. Care can start before approval
Benefits are commonly paid back to the filing date once approved, so families who start care while waiting are not usually penalised for it. Martin will confirm how that applies to your case.
Questions we get every week
Broadly: a veteran with qualifying wartime service, or a surviving spouse, who needs help with daily activities such as bathing, dressing or medication, and who meets the income and net worth limits after care costs are counted. Martin checks all of it on the first call.
Ask Martin whether you qualify
A free call with the person who files these. Fifteen minutes is usually enough to know whether there is a benefit here for your family.