Online resource center to help you explore these key issues, and others, regarding your estate.

Practice Areas

Mr. Miller has many years of experience in designing and implementing a comprehensive variety of Trusts, Wills, and other estate planning documents, as well as settling estates in the most expedient and appropriate method. Further, he counsels and assists clients on becoming eligible for VA benefits and Medi-Cal.

Learn more
VA Pension/Aid & Attendance/Medi-Cal

Mr. Miller has been active in the area of VA Pension and Medi-Cal for well over a decade. He uses various specialized types of Trusts as well as non-trust strategies to gain eligibility for his clients and save the family money.

Learn more
Probate & Estate Administration

Mr. Miller has been settling estates (both simple and complex) for well over 40 years. The starting point is always to create a strategy to settle the estate in the most efficient manner possible with a minimum of taxes. Often times the strategy created allows the family to bypass Probate Court proceedings.

Learn more

Decoration Day…


By merv,

  Filed under: Blog, Veteran's Benefits

Memorial Day began during the Civil War as Decoration Day.  As the bloodiest war in American history to date, African Americans freed from slavery first started the tradition by landscaping and cleaning up the unmarked burial ground at the Charleston Race Track in Charleston, North Carolina.  Soon thereafter, following the battle of Gettysburg, the Union states adopted the holiday for themselves.  Over time, the Southern states joined in, the nation fought more wars, and the holiday became a day of national remembrance for those who lost their lives in wars.

Now, 150 years after the American Civil War, and as we continue being involved with wars in order to protect and defend the American values of freedom, democracy, and human dignity at home and abroad, we are unfortunately adding to the numbers who should be remembered on this holiday.  However, with increases in military and medical technology, we should also be mindful of the many veterans who have returned home in recent years with severe physical disabilities or, in some cases, with unscathed bodies hiding their very real closed head traumas and mental disabilities.  Honoring our living and still serving veterans is just as important as remembering the sacrifices of the deceased.

As much as ever, it is vital that the Veterans Administration and soldiers meet in their shared benefits space.  For many veterans, it is about becoming knowledgeable about their rights and available benefits.  If you are a veteran, getting the benefits you need now is as important as preparing for the benefits you may need in the future.  Learning about the many options and benefits to which you are eligible is important.  Education, job search, housing, child care, and medical benefits are available now to many veterans.  Additionally, VA Aid & Attendance Non Service Connected Disability benefit, or service connected disability pensions may be down the road for others.  Proper planning, including a QVap Trust  may ensure that veterans in need of Aid & Attendance benefits are able to obtain them.

For many others, the difficulty is in getting their needed care and benefits from the V.A.  The increasing wait times and highly publicized failures of the V.A. to effectively deal will mental illness as a result of war does a disservice to our veterans.  For their part, the V.A. is reworking its definition of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) amid much criticism following diagnosis reversals and general failure to recognize PTSD symptoms in soldiers.  They are also working to reduce veteran homelessness and wait times for benefit hearings and decisions.

So while you celebrate this hot dog and beer-filled long weekend, please remember to thank and honor our troops who have given so much in many wars during the last century.  We hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday weekend.

VA Aid & Attendance–How Can I Correctly Choose Help for my Application Process?  FREE REPORT:  This complimentary report focuses on the various kinds of people one can consult when applying for the Veterans Aid & Attendance benefit. Who one chooses can mean the difference between success and failure. Remember, if you are denied, you may not be able to reapply for up to a year or longer. Download our complimentary report for a behind the scenes look at the different types of people you can consult and the dirty underbelly of the veterans aid & attendance industry.

Comments are closed.

About Living Trusts

About Living Trusts is hosted by the Law Offices of Merwyn J. Miller, as your online resource center to help you explore these key issues, and others, regarding your estate.

Merwyn J. Miller, J.D.

  • Board Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law
  • Co-Author of legal text book and of “Don’t Go Broke in a Nursing Home
  • Teacher of law courses at public and private colleges
  • Continuing Education Instructor for attorneys
  • Columnist for largest regional newspaper in San Diego County and professional journals for 15 years, Contributing author to the book “In Your Service: The Veteran’s Friend”
  • Masters Degree in Financial Services - Estate Planning
Amazon
Journals
News
Testimonials

Previous Next

    Free Consultation

    Call 760-436-8832


    Math Captcha × 3 = 18