Thursday, November 29, 2012

December 13/Seattle: CLE on Impact in Domestic Courts of Military Commissions

Judge Jack Nevin, Pierce County Superior Court, will discuss the fascinating issue of military commissions and how they affect American jurisprudence in cases involving domestic violence and military pay orders.
Title:
Quarterly WSBA LAMP Meeting and CLE
When/Where:
Thursday, December 13, 2012
11:30 A.M. Quarterly Meeting
12:00 Noon - 1:00 P.M. CLE
Ben Bridge Corporate Office
2901 3rd Avenue, 2nd floor
Seattle, WA
Speaker: 
Judge Jack Nevin, Pierce County Superior Court.
Cost:

  • Free to Section members not looking for CLE credit
  • $10 if you want CLE credit or are not a Section member


Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Nov 29+30/Web: Virtual Summit for Military & Veteran Caregivers


On November 29 and 30, FamilyOfAVet.com is hosting a "Caregiver Mental Health Summit" as a meeting of the minds on both sides of the aisle; both military and veteran caregivers as well as the professionals in the mental health field assisting them. The Summit will consist of two separate days packed with information and real-world resources which will be made available to these men and women who help our country by serving those who served.
The event is completely online, so you can attend from the comfort of your home!
Learn More Here!
If you have a subject that you would like addressed during the summit, please tweet your question with the hashtag #CaregiverSummit before or during the event.
Day One: Mental Health Professional Track (Thursday, November 29th)
Four, 90-minute courses for mental health professionals and others involved in helping Veteran Caregivers.  This track is designed to help you learn more about the mental health issues that caregivers face, gain firsthand knowledge about them from caregivers themselves, and come away with ideas and tools you can use to better serve those you work with in your area.
Day Two: Caregiver Track (Friday, November 30th)
Four, 90-minute courses for those who love and care for our nation's heroes.  This courses are designed by caregivers, for caregivers.  They are taught by and facilitated by caregivers.  This track is about helping you look at what may be going on with you, why its happening, and HOW to take real steps to take care of yourself and  feel better.
More Information 

Top 10 Sequestration FAQs, by Military.com

Military.com has posted "Top 10 Sequestration FAQs" based on a September 20, 2012 Q&A about sequestration with the Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee and the House Armed Services Committee. Here's a sample:
Q: The WH sequestration report says that “military personnel accounts” will be exempt from any sequestration cuts. Does this cover all personnel related programs like tuition assistance, housing, and family support programs?
A: Military Pay (including PCS and Subsistence) is exempt under the President’s sequestration exemption. Programs such as TRICARE, tuition assistance and family support programs are not exempt and do fall under sequestration.
Read The Rest:
http://militaryadvantage.military.com/2012/10/sequestration-faqs/#ixzz2DXi7xbHb MilitaryAdvantage.Military.com

Friday, November 16, 2012

November 19/Web - Qualifying a Veteran for Long-Term Care -- GAO Calls for Improvements

This CLE program of the Texas Veterans Legal Assistance Project on Monday, November 19, 2012, will educate attendees on the process to qualify a Veteran for VA pension benefits, pursuant to Title 38 of the United States Code and Title 38 of the Code of Federal Regulations, when Long-Term Care is needed. There will be one lecture by Attorney Janet Totter and it will provide an overview of (1) financial eligibility of the Veteran for VA pension, (2) Aid & Attendance special allowance, (3) spending down the Veteran’s assets and (4) why the GAO is calling for improvements.
Participants will receive a copy of the power point presentation, referencing applicable federal statutes and provisions related to the military judicial system.
Who May Attend:
This program is for Texas attorneys providing pro bono service to veterans.


Title:
Qualifying a Veteran for Long-Term Care -- GAO Calls for Improvements
When/Where:
November 19, 2012
Noon Central (11 AM Mountain)
Webinar
Registration:
Please see the webinar registration form at http://www.tlsc.org/calendar/ to register.
Speaker:
Attorney Janet Totter is an accredited attorney for veteran’s claims with the Department of Veterans Affairs.  Ms. Totter earned her law degree at William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota.  Prior to moving to Texas, Ms. Totter was in private practice in Minnesota representing persons with disabilities.  Ms. Totter served in the U.S. Navy, retiring in August 2000.  Ms. Totter is the Managing Attorney of the Texas Veterans Legal Assistance Project.
By:
Texas Veterans Legal Assistance Project
Credit:
The CLE program on Monday, November 19, 2012, has been certified by the State Bar of Texas for one hour of participatory MCLE credit (no ethics credit).  The course number is 901256072.
More Information:
http://www.tlsc.org/calendar/

Thursday, November 15, 2012

How To Figure Out If You're Eligible For A VA Home Loan

Military.com recently posted a very useful article:

"Are You Eligible for a VA Home Loan?"

The basic article walks you through the process of figuring out your eligibility, based on your dates of service and so on. Just read through it to see in what category you may fit. It'll also suggest what to do next if you quality.
However, if you're not the sort of person that likes to read through a whole lot of verbiage, they offer an alternative: a pop-up calculator!
 Click on the little picture of a calculator and it'll guide you through a series of question. 
With luck, you'll be greeted with at the end with the message:

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

"GI Bill" Is Now A Registered Trademark Of The VA

According to a October 16, 2012 VA Press Release:
"President Obama signed Executive Order 13607 on April 26, 2012, directing the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Department of Defense, and the Department of Education to undertake a number of measures to “stop deceptive and misleading” promotional efforts that target the GI Bill educational benefits of Servicemembers, Veterans, and eligible family members and survivors. Trademarking “GI Bill” was part of that order to protect military families from being misled by schools that target their federal education benefits.
Today GI Bill is an officially registered trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office."
What's this about?
In the wake of improvements in the GI Bill, some sleezebags decided they could use the "GI Bill" name for financial advantage. A company named "QuinStreet" set up GIBill.com to send veterans to for-profit schools that, by no coincidence, were clients of QuinStreet.
A posse of state attorney generals sued, and in June a settlement awarded GIBill.com to the VA. That solves one problem, but suing one-by-one is inefficient.
In response, Obama proposed the trademarking of "GI Bill". This would not only allow more efficient resolution of such scams, it also puts marginal operators on notice; they should move on to another scam.
Some in the world of business and the law criticized the very idea of trademarking "GI Bill"; for example: "Obama Wants to Trademark the GI Bill. Good Luck With That" By Kristen Hinman, Business Week, April 27, 2012
However, these complaints are basically silly. First, they misunderstand the difference between a law and the NAME of a law. Trademarking a name does not affect the operation of the law; citizens can still read the law, write about the law, use the name of the law in political speech, and so forth ... just as I can write about Disney, Microsoft and Boeing even those names are protected intellectual property.
Second, while it is true that this sort of trademark is unusual, that's because the situation is unusual; it just isn't that common for private organizations to pretend to be government organizations for the purpose of extracting money from citizens. Personally I think a horsewhipping would be more appropriate (... cool down, I'm joking ... maybe ...) but sending lawyers after them might be just as bad. There are many absurd situations in which the law has not yet been tested because no-one's gotten around to doing something that stupid.
Finally, maybe someone will contest this trademark; maybe someone will peddle "GIBill Coffee" or something, and fight it all the way up to the Supreme Court. And maybe they'll win. Who knows? That would get Congress off the stump so it passes a law protecting the name.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

How To Find VA Accreditation Status of a Lawyer, Claims Agent or VSO

In dealing with your Veterans Administration (VA) claim, you may wish the services of a lawyer, claims agent, or Veterans Service Organization (VSO). This is very common, but how can you be sure that a person claiming to be accreditted by the VA actually is?
Fortunately, the VA makes this easy. Simply go to its Accreditation Search page at http://www.va.gov/ogc/apps/accreditation/index.asp and follow the directions.

On that webpage, you must choose whether you're checking to see whether the person in question is an Attorney, Claims Representative, or VSO Rep. Then you put in some identifying information, such as the last name, and his "search". The VA will show you a list of persons matching that description; if the list is too long, you can resubmit your query with more conditions, such as state or even city.
We you get results, always click on the name to get detail. This will help avoid the situation in which two people have similar names.
On the same page, you also have the opportunity to check out VSOs. Simply scroll down to the "Search Recognized VSOs" section, enter information about the organization, and hit enter to get a list of VSOs, if any, that fit your criteria!

Friday, November 9, 2012

November 12/Web: Interplay between VA Pension Benefits, Social Security Benefits, and State Benefits

This CLE webinar of the Texas Veterans Legal Assistance Project on Monday, November 12, 2012, will educate attendees on the intersection of Social Security Benefits, pursuant to Tile 42 of the United States Code, state benefits administered by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, and VA pension benefits, pursuant to Title 38 of the United States Code and Title 38 of the Code of Federal Regulations. It will provide an overview of (1) eligibility for Supplemental Security Income [SSI], (2) Medicaid eligibility, (3) eligibility for VA pension and how the “needs based” programs intersect. Attorneys in private practice who are providing legal assistance to low-income Texas Veterans, on referral from a Legal Aid program or a local bar association volunteer lawyer program, can receive back-up and support from the AmeriCorps Equal Justice Works Fellow in the Texas Veterans Legal Assistance Project.  For further details, or to request such back-up and support, please contact emarfin@tlsc.org.


Who May Attend:
This program is for Texas attorneys providing pro bono service to veterans.


Title:
Interplay between VA Pension Benefits, Social Security Benefits, and State Benefits
When/Where:
November 12, 2012
Noon Central (11 AM Mountain)
Webinar
Registration:
Please see the webinar registration form at http://www.tlsc.org/calendar/ to register.
Speaker:
Attorney Janet Totter is an accredited attorney for veteran’s claims with the Department of Veterans Affairs.  Ms. Totter earned her law degree at William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota.  Prior to moving to Texas, Ms. Totter was in private practice in Minnesota representing persons with disabilities.  Ms. Totter served in the U.S. Navy, retiring in August 2000.  Ms. Totter is the Managing Attorney of the Texas Veterans Legal Assistance Project.
By:
Texas Veterans Legal Assistance Project
Credit:
The CLE Program on November 5th has been certified by the State Bar of Texas for one hour a participatory MCLE credit (no ethics credit).  The course number of the program is 901256070.
More Information:
http://www.tlsc.org/calendar/

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Nov 5/Web: Family Member Entitlement to VA Pension Benefits #MCLE

The CLE webinar of the Texas Veterans Legal Assistance Project will educate attendees on Family Member Entitlement to VA Pension Benefits.  It will provide an overview of (1) who is considered a qualified family member of a Veteran, (2) benefits available to qualifying survivors of a deceased Veteran, and (3) special allowances pursuant to Title 38 of the United States Code and Title 38 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Attorneys in private practice who are providing legal assistance to low-income Texas Veterans, on referral from a Legal Aid program or a local bar association volunteer lawyer program, can receive back-up and support from the AmeriCorps Equal Justice Works Fellow in the Texas Veterans Legal Assistance Project.  For further details, or to request such back-up and support, please contact emarfin@tlsc.org.


Who May Attend:
This program is for Texas attorneys providing pro bono service to veterans.


Title:
Family Member Entitlement to VA Pension Benefits
A Texas Veterans Legal Assistance Project WEBINAR 
When/Where:
November 5, 2012
Noon Central (11 AM Mountain)
 Webinar
Registration:
Please see the webinar registration form at http://www.tlsc.org/calendar/ for further details about the upcoming CLE program on Nov. 5th and to register.
Speaker:
Attorney Janet Totter
By:
Texas Veterans Legal Assistance Project
Credit:
The CLE Program on November 5th has been certified by the State Bar of Texas for one hour a participatory MCLE credit (no ethics credit).  The course number of the program is 901256070.
More:
http://www.tlsc.org/calendar/