FYI Series #20
Law Center Represents Veterans
The Indiana University Maurer School of Law has establised a Veterans Disability Law Clinic. The new clinic is the first of its kind in the state and will operate from the already established Disability Law Clinic. It provides full representation services for low-income disabled veterans inside of the greater Bloomington area who have already applied for benefits and have been denied. For more details call 812-855-9666.
Same-Sex Veteran Couples Granted Full Benefits
June 26, 2015 – The landmark Supreme Court ruling making same-sex marriage legal across the U.S. means LGBT military personnel will have full access to veterans benefits, according to the nation’s largest organization for LGBT service members and veterans. “Burial rights to veteran home loans, today’s historic Supreme Court decision bringing marriage equality to every state in our great nation means that LGBT military families will finally have access to the full federal veterans benefits they’ve earned,” AMPA President Ashley Broadway-Mack said in a written statement. The decision will now permit same sex weddings in military chapels in all 50 states. Additionally, the ruling stipulates that states must also recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.
Crime To Call Yourself A Veteran
Pretending to be a military veteran to obtain a discount or other benefit not only is considered wrong by most Americans, it also now is a crime in Indiana. Republican Gov. Mike Pence signed into law March 22, 2016, House Enrolled Act 1179, sponsored by state Rep. Chuck Moseley, D-Portage, making “stolen valor” a misdemeanor crime punishable by a $5,000 fine or up to one year in jail.
Welcome Home Bonus Program
The Welcome Home Bonus package is due to most discharged veterans. The Veterans’ Bonus is a division of the Community and Veterans’ Services Department in Treasurer Deborah B. Goldberg’s Administration. It is for veterans who are engaged in or have completed qualified active service since September 11, 2001. All bonus payments are subject to applicants meeting eligibility requirements, which include a six-month domicile in Massachusetts immediately prior to entry into the armed service and an honorable discharge. The treasury administers the World War II Bonus, Korean Bonus, and Vietnam Bonus, as well as the Welcome Home Bonus. Call Leo Fuller at 781-353-5559 to learn more about the bonus programs.
Construction Fees Waived
Veterans who are 100 percent permanently disabled through a service-related disability can have his construction surcharge fee waived. The construction fees waived must pertain to “any construction, reconstruction, alteration, or improvement designed and undertaken solely to promote accessibility by the disabled veteran to his own living unit,” Ordinance 16-16 states. The Ordinance is limited to certain states.
Benefit May Be Detrimental
According to reports from many veterans advocate group, A benefit proposed by the government to prevent disabled veterans from spending their retirement years in poverty could disadvantage those injured in older conflicts such as Korea and WWII by clawing back their lifetime payments for pain and suffering.
The disparity highlights the challenges faced by the Conservative government as it attempts to address gaps into the New Veterans Charter, a system of compensation that became law in 2006 and which modern-day veterans say leaves them without adequate financial resources or compensation for their suffering.
Comments
FYI Series #20 — No Comments
HTML tags allowed in your comment: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>