Do Disabled Veterans Have to Pay Property Taxes in Michigan?

A relatively new Michigan law does indeed give some disabled veterans an exemption on their property taxes. And the good news: it’s pretty easy to apply for the Disabled Veterans Exemption.

Disabled veterans, un-remarried spouses, or their legal designee can apply by completing the one page Form 5107 and filing that with your local assessor’s office. If the local Board of Review approves the exemption, then you will be granted a refund for that year’s taxes.

You can download form 5107 here to apply for the exemption:

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/treasury/5107STCAffidavit_441749_7.pdf

Note – Michigan veterans must apply each year for this exemption.

Who qualifies as a “Disabled Veteran” under the law (MCL 211.7b)?

The law defines a disabled veteran as a resident of Michigan who meets one of the following criteria:

(a) Rated 100% for disability as a result of military service by the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

(b) Has a certificate from VA certifying that the veteran is receiving or has received financial assistance due to disability for specially adapted housing.

(c) Rated by VA as individually unemployable.

This is a great money-saving benefit for disabled veterans in Michigan that you should try and take advantage of if you meet the criteria.

Do you need help with your VA disability rating or your VA claim? You can call the team at Legal Help For Veterans, PLLC today. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from VA. Call us today at (800) 693-4800 or visit us online at www.LegalHelpForVeterans.com. 

Aid & Attendance Abuse

The Department of Veteran Affairs pension program provides financial assistance to low income veterans.  Or so we thought.

According to a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) detailing a year-long investigation, the pension program is fraught with abuse.  Over 200 financial planners and other firms have sprouted up across the country specializing in helping well-off veterans “restructure” their assets to appear indigent and therefore qualify for tax-free pensions.  These pensions can pay more than $20,000 per year.

To qualify for these pension benefits, the veteran must be over 65 or permanently disabled, have served during wartime, and fall below the income threshold – $12,200 for a person with no dependents.  However, by hiding assets in trusts or deferred annuities, these firms are able to get pension benefits for veterans with hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets.

While this “restructuring” of assets is not illegal under the current rules, this practice does undermine the very purpose of the pension system – aiding poor veterans.  The GAO placed partial blame on the VA, calling for greater oversight and changes to the eligibility rules.

The VA said that it concurred with the GAO’s recommendations and that the department is drafting new regulations to clarify the types of asset transfers that might disqualify a pension applicant.

With over a half million veterans receiving pensions, clear regulations regarding eligibility are not just preferable, they are a necessity.

At Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC we do not handle aid and attendance claims and do not restructure assets to make veterans qualify.  If you have questions, contact Kristina L. Derro.

To learn more or see the original article, please visit:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/06/us/veterans-pension-program-is-being-abused-report-says.html?_r=2