If you are the surviving spouse of a wartime veteran and want to apply for aid and attendance pension, you must complete VA Form 21P-534 EZ. The Department of Veterans Affairs published a new VA Form 21P-534 EZ dated October of 2018. This new 534 EZ supersedes the old 534 EZ dated June of 2018.
This is not the case with VA Form 21P-534 EZ. It is materially different from the old 534 EZ. If you submit the old surviving spouse application, the VA will mail you a request for more information that, at a minimum, will require you to complete VA Form 21P-0969.
What’s So Different About The New VA Form 21P-534 EZ?
As you may have read, the VA drastically changed the rules for aid and attendance pension effective October 18, 2018. Given the new rules, the VA published a new VA Form 21P-534 EZ to reflect these changes.
Here are some of the more significant changes between the old 534 EZ and the new 534 EZ.
- The new form has two Worksheets pages where the claimant will report certain medical expenses
- The new form doesn’t ask the surviving spouse to report assets
- The new form only asks the VA to report Social Security income
- The new VA asks the claimant about transfers or “gifting”
- The new form asks if the surviving spouse owns their primary residence
Depending on the answers to these questions, the surviving spouse may need to complete VA Form 21P-0969. Some of these new questions and pages are confusing.
For example, the worksheet pages are quite detailed and demand additional supporting documentation depending on the answers the claimant provides. The EaZy App system makes completing the worksheets and the supporting care provider documentation a simple process. Using our first of its kind technology, you won’t need to guess about the best way to complete these forms.
The VA implemented a 36 month look back period and created a new formula to determine net worth eligibility. The new VA Form 21P-534 EZ accounts for these rule changes by asking questions designed to illicit information that the old form never contemplated.
What Are Some Tips For Completing VA Form 21P-534 EZ?
- Make sure you check the Survivors Pension box in Question 17 and complete the form as if you are applying for aid and attendance pension and not Dependence and Indemnity Compensation (DIC).
- Always complete marital information for the Veteran and the Surviving Spouse, even if the surviving spouse was only married once. If you report multiple marriages, you must complete all information related to each of the marriages.
- Completing the Medical Expenses Section and the Worksheets is not sufficient to have your assisted living, independent living, or home care expenses counted as unreimbursed medical expenses. You must submit supporting documentation. The VA doesn’t make this clear, yet is is crucial.
What’s The Best Way To Complete VA Form 21P-534 EZ? The best way to submit a claim for VA aid and attendance pension is to work with an expert. The most cost effective way to complete this form and submit a claim to the VA is to utilize the EaZy App technology that takes away much of the stress and guessing involved in completing the forms yourself.
The VA regularly publishes new forms that supersede the older version. Quite often, the old form and the new form are identical.