Although the VA has a duty to maximize veterans’ disability benefits, this duty is not without limits. Veterans must specifically request most VA benefits, some of which they may not even know about. And after receiving a claim, the VA might not grant all of the benefits that are warranted. The laws governing VA benefits are complex. VA adjudicators are overburdened and make mistakes. Therefore, it is incumbent on advocates to know what claims to file, how to attain the earliest possible effective date for benefits, and what evidence and arguments to present to obtain the proper disability rating and award of special monthly compensation.

This training will provide an overview of strategies advocates can employ to maximize a claimant’s VA compensation, pension, or survivor’s benefits. It will also include a summary of oft-overlooked VA benefits. Both new and experienced advocates will find value in this training as a comprehensive checklist for ensuring that veterans are awarded all of the VA benefits to which they are entitled. It will cover the following and more:

• Tips for getting the highest possible disability rating, including extraschedular ratings and multiple ratings for different symptoms of a disability
• Special circumstances that warrant total disability ratings, including temporary 100% ratings based on convalescence and hospitalization, and total disability ratings based on individual unemployability
• Requirements for ancillary VA benefits, including clothing allowance, adaptive housing grants, and automobile allowance
• How veterans can qualify for special monthly compensation
• Several other factors an advocate should consider to ensure that the veterans they represent receive all of the VA benefits to which they are entitled