Georgia veterans sacrifice a great deal for their country. Despite all of these sacrifices, veterans can find themselves facing an uphill battle when they encounter the legal system.
For instance, one veteran is currently fighting to change state law relating to veterans’ benefits. The veteran had initially lost his veterans’ disability claim with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, but he was able to win the case after he filed an appeal.
When the veteran was granted a veteran’s disability, it was made retroactive four years. This was because the process had taken quite a while to go through the system. However, when the veteran requested a refund of property taxes he had paid during that time, the request was denied. Accordingly, the veteran is now trying to change state law to enable other veterans to receive a retroactive property tax break after they have went through a lengthy wait to get their full disability.
It remains to be seen whether the veteran’s quest for the new law will be successful. However, the case illustrates some of the issues veterans can face when trying to apply for disability benefits. The process can take some time to complete, and they might initially be denied disability benefits when they should have received them.
This is true not only for issues with the VA, but with Social Security disability benefits as well. Accordingly, veterans should understand not only what kind of benefits they may be entitled to, but what they can do to get a timely resolution of their application for benefits.
Source: Gainesville Times, “Hall Marine veteran seeks retroactive tax break for fully disabled veterans,” Jeff Gill, Sept. 18, 2016
