My wife needs constant care in the form of toileting, dressing, meal preparation, mobility (she cannot walk on her own), etc. I currently use an outside caregiver company a few hours a week so I can do shopping and other chores outside the home. I find the need for more hours outside the home to take care of matters and whenever possible and some respite time for me. Unfortunately, my budget prevents me from adding additional hours of care giving.
Work with a consultant if you can, it's free and very helpful. On the top right of this page, go to Money and Legal, click, and click on Veterans Assistance.
We are still in process for establishing the fiduciary for my mom, it seems to be a 60 day process. She is in hospice care and frankly with her current health status this may never become an issue for us. In hind sight I fell short of doing my due diligence. Please research this carefully to be sure this meets your needs. Finally, your local VA office and/or health center generally has a social worker on staff that is great for helping sort out local as well as national programs that may suit your needs. Good luck and God bless you for your service.
2. A spouse will not be paid for performing care services. an 'outside agent' , (non-spouse) will qualify as a deductible qualifying medical expense.
3. the VA says it is OK to own your home; (which is true,) but very limited as how to begin protecting that home from future VA denial and charge back, and Medicaid rules.
4. VA lists confusing Asset/Income limitations, there are proper ways to deal with that subject, so many families are bathing in the misconception they won't qualify...mistakenly!
Self Application is often a quagmire! I'll provide some education at my office (free) if you are in Metro Atlanta.