What To Do After Approval

You’ve fought the good fight and it finally happened. After mountains of paperwork, appeals, and long wait times, you finally got approved for VA disability compensation. But what do you do now? You could just head home and wait for the first long awaited check to come in, but if you really want to maximize your benefits there are few things left to do.

1. Protect back pay– Once you’re approved the VA will retroactively pay benefits and sometimes the back pay check can be quite large. Most people aren’t used to getting this amount of money dropped in their lap, and it’s surprisingly easy to mismanage. It’s tempting to cash the check and go splurge on a new car or house. Instead of splurging, get in touch with a financial manager or tax consultant to get some guidance.
2. Direct deposit– Signing up for direct deposit will ensure all your benefits will be deposited on time and won’t get lost in the mail. It’s easy to sign up and you can enroll pretty much anytime after you get approved.
3. Other benefits– In addition to disability compensation, the VA offers tons of other benefits. There’s healthcare, education, loans, and even life insurance to name a few. Most states also offer additional benefits for disabled veterans, so make sure to check for local benefits too. Getting approved for disability compensation is one of the hardest benefits to get approved for, so if you handle this you can handle anything.
4. Double check your effective date- Every now and then the VA will make an error and report your effective date incorrectly. It’s rare, but does happen. This might sound insignificant, but it can cost you big time. Once you start receiving benefits, double check to make sure your effective date and disability rating are both correct.  
5. File for an increase– If your condition gets worse after you get approved, don’t hesitate to file for an increased rating. By getting an increased rating your monthly benefit payments could increase.

Getting approved is a great victory that we love celebrating with our clients and at Jan Dils Attorneys at Law we make sure our clients know what to expect and do after getting approved.