Frequently Asked Questions

Nothing. Not a reduced fee, not a deposit, not a percentage. Zero.

Federal law bars accredited attorneys from charging a fee for work on an initial claim before the VA decides it, and we follow it. You'll sign a written agreement stating the fee is zero. The only cost that can come up is an independent medical opinion, which comes from an outside provider at your own expense, and we'll tell you before any cost exists. Many claims need none.

We accept a limited number of veterans each month under this program. See how Valor First Claim works.

Nothing up front, and nothing at all unless we win. We handle VA disability appeals on contingency. If your appeal succeeds and the VA awards past-due benefits, our fee is a percentage of that award, within the limits federal law sets for VA claims. If we don't win, you don't owe us an attorney fee.

Talking to us costs nothing. We'll tell you whether we think your case has merit before you sign anything. More on how these cases work on our VA disability appeals page.

No. Our fee comes only from past-due benefits the VA owes you for the period before your award. Your monthly compensation going forward is yours. We never touch it.

Fees pay for our legal work. Costs pay for things your case may need from third parties, like an independent medical opinion or copies of records. Not every case has them. When yours might, we tell you what to expect up front and in writing, before you owe anything. No surprises on the back end.

Those are flat-fee matters, not contingency. Discharge upgrades go through the military review boards rather than the VA benefits system, so the work is different and the fee structure is too. We quote a clear, agreed fee based on the scope of your case before we begin. Estate planning works the same way: flat-fee packages, priced up front, whether you need a simple will or a complete plan with a trust.

Either way, you know the full cost before any work starts. See our discharge upgrades and estate planning pages for what each one covers.

Yes. Call us, tell us what happened, and we'll give you our honest read. If we think you'd be better served going a different direction, we'll say so. Not every case can be won, and part of doing this work responsibly is being straight with you about that from the first call.

Yes. That's what Valor First Claim is. Accredited veteran attorneys represent you on your initial VA disability claim, from intake through the VA's decision, at no charge.

Federal law doesn't allow attorneys to charge a fee for initial claim work before the VA decides, so the fee is zero. We'd rather build the record correctly the first time than clean it up on appeal later. We accept a limited number of veterans each month and prioritize claims with real complexity.

There isn't one. You'll sign a written agreement stating the fee is zero. No deposit, no percentage, no charge for reviewing your records.

Nothing about the free initial claim obligates you to hire us later. If the VA decides your claim correctly, we close your file and you owe us nothing. If it gets the claim wrong, you'll already have a firm that knows your case, and whether you use us for the appeal is entirely your call. Full program terms are here.

No, and we're upfront about that. We take a limited number of veterans each month so every claim gets real attention, and we prioritize claims where getting the record right the first time matters most: multiple conditions, conditions that may be connected to each other, toxic exposure histories including burn pits and other PACT Act exposures, conditions never treated or documented in service, and conditions that keep you from holding steady work.

If your claim is a single straightforward condition with clean records, a Veterans Service Organization may serve you well at no cost, and we're glad to point you to one. See the full fit criteria here.

One thorough interview where you tell your story once and never have to repeat it. A written Claim Roadmap laying out the plan. Your personal statement and supporting statements, developed with our guidance. Preparation before any C&P exam. Filing the claim, as a Fully Developed Claim where the evidence supports it. And a walkthrough of the VA's decision when it arrives.

We file a VA Form 21-22a as your representative, which means the decision comes to us the same day it goes to you, and we review it against the record we built. More detail on the process here.

Yes. Before any exam you'll get our preparation guide and a prep call with our team. The exam is where a lot of claims are won or lost, and no veteran in this program walks into one cold.

Often, yes. If your claim is still pending, reach out and tell us where things stand. If it's already been decided and you disagree with the result, that's an appeal, which we also handle.

Because we're your representative, the decision comes to us as well as to you. We review it against your record, then walk you through what it says and what it means. You can check the math yourself with our VA disability calculator and back pay calculator.

If the decision is correct, we close your file and you owe nothing. If it's wrong, our representation under the free agreement ends there and an appeal is a separate engagement, handled on contingency, offered only at that point and only if you want it.

Usually not, but the clock matters. You generally have one year from the date of a VA decision to appeal it and protect your effective date, which is what determines your back pay. Filing within that year preserves the most value.

If the year has passed, options remain. A supplemental claim with new and relevant evidence can reopen the issue. And in narrow circumstances, a claim of Clear and Unmistakable Error can challenge a final decision long after the normal deadline. The sooner you call, the more options you keep.

Filing an appeal does not by itself put your existing ratings on the chopping block. The VA can only reduce a rating through a separate process with its own notice requirements, and long-standing ratings carry legal protections that make reductions harder over time.

That said, the risk isn't zero in every situation, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something. Before we file anything, we look at your whole rating picture and tell you honestly whether an appeal carries any exposure. Then you decide. You can model your combined rating first with our VA disability calculator.

It depends on the route. A Higher-Level Review or supplemental claim is often measured in months. An appeal to the Board of Veterans' Appeals is typically measured in years, and the Board's own dockets move at different speeds depending on whether you submit evidence or request a hearing.

We won't pretend the wait is short. What we can do is pick the lane that fits your case, keep the record clean so delays aren't your fault, and make sure your effective date is protected so the time you wait is time the VA eventually pays for. Our VA back pay calculator gives you a sense of what a protected effective date is worth.

Three doors, one decision. A Higher-Level Review asks a more senior VA reviewer to look at the same record and find the error. A supplemental claim adds new and relevant evidence the VA hasn't seen. A Board appeal puts your case in front of a Veterans Law Judge, with options to add evidence or testify at a hearing.

Which door is right depends on why you were denied. If the VA got the law wrong on a complete record, that points one way. If the record was missing something, it points another. Picking the wrong lane wastes months. This is exactly the judgment call we make for clients every day. Our VA disability appeals page walks through each lane in detail.

A Veterans Service Organization can represent you at no charge, and if your first claim is one straightforward condition with clean records, a good VSO may be all you need. We'll tell you that to your face.

On initial claims, cost isn't the deciding factor anymore, because we represent veterans on those at no charge too. The question is complexity: multiple conditions, secondaries, toxic exposure, in-service injuries that never made it into a treatment record, or a condition that keeps you from working.

On appeal, attorney representation earns its keep on denials that turn on legal error, complex medical evidence, effective-date disputes, TDIU, and cases headed to the Board or the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. That's regulation-heavy work, and our fee there only exists if we win you past-due benefits. Ask us and we'll give you a straight answer either way.

Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability. In plain terms: if your service-connected conditions prevent you from holding substantially gainful employment, the VA can pay you at the 100 percent rate even if your combined rating is lower. Veterans get denied TDIU all the time because the VA looks at the rating math instead of the reality of whether they can work. That gap between the math and the reality is where we build these cases. Read more about TDIU here.

Yes. VA disability law is federal, so our VA-accredited attorneys represent veterans nationwide, from any Regional Office through the Board and the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Most of the work happens by phone, email, and secure document exchange, so where you live doesn't limit what we can do for you.

Often, yes, especially when the conduct behind the discharge was tied to something the record never accounted for: PTSD, TBI, military sexual trauma, or other conditions that shaped behavior before anyone diagnosed them. The review boards are required to give liberal consideration to those cases, and many veterans were separated under standards or attitudes that wouldn't survive scrutiny today.

Every case turns on its own record. We review yours, tell you honestly whether we see a path, and quote a flat fee before any work begins. See our discharge upgrades page for how these cases get built.

Your characterization of service follows you. It can control access to VA benefits, healthcare, education benefits, and employment opportunities, and it shapes how your service is remembered. An upgrade can restore eligibility for benefits you earned and correct a record that never told the whole story. For a lot of our clients, that second part matters as much as the first.

No. Discharge upgrades go through your branch's military review boards, not the VA. Depending on how long ago you separated and what you're asking the board to fix, your case goes to either a Discharge Review Board or a Board for Correction of Military Records. They have different rules, different time windows, and different powers. Part of our job is putting your case in front of the right board with the record built the way that board expects to see it. Our Military Records Navigator can help you work out which board fits your situation.

Typically a year or more from filing to decision, depending on the board and its backlog. The timeline isn't fast, but the preparation is where cases are won or lost. A rushed application that gets denied makes the next attempt harder. We'd rather build it right once.

We talk. You tell us what happened, we ask questions, and we give you an honest assessment of whether we can help. If we take your case, we put the fee agreement in writing, gather your records, and get to work building it. If we can't help, we say so and point you toward resources that can. Either way, you leave the first conversation knowing where you stand. Start here.

Yes. Your case isn't routed through a call center or handed to someone who's never read your file. It's reviewed, analyzed, and handled by our attorneys, supported by senior paralegals who know veterans' cases. And every attorney here is a veteran. We've been on your side of the desk.

You'll hear from us at every meaningful stage: when we file, when the VA responds, when evidence comes in, and when a decision lands. VA timelines involve long stretches of waiting, and we'd rather tell you "nothing has moved yet, and here's why" than leave you guessing. If you have a question between updates, call or email. A real person answers.

Because your record was written by the military, and we know how those records actually get made. We know how injuries go undocumented, how context disappears once everything is reduced to checkboxes, and how a personnel file can flatten a whole career into a few lines. That changes how we read your file, what we go looking for, and what we know is missing. It's not a marketing line. It's how the cases get built. More about who we are.

We'll tell you. Not every case can be won, and some should never have been denied in the first place. Knowing the difference, and being honest about it, is part of doing this work responsibly. If we decline a case, we'll explain why and, where we can, point you toward a better path. What we won't do is take your case just to have it.

It depends on what you own, who depends on you, and what you want to happen when you're gone. For some families a will and powers of attorney cover it. For others, a trust avoids probate and keeps things simpler for the people you leave behind. We don't push the bigger package because it's bigger. We walk you through what each document does, build the plan around what you actually need, and quote the flat fee before we start.

Done right, no, and done right, it protects them. Veterans' families have questions most estate plans never address: what happens to disability compensation, what survivors may be entitled to, how benefits interact with the rest of the plan. Because we practice veterans law every day, we build plans with those questions already answered instead of discovered later.

A flat fee, quoted up front, based on what your plan includes. No hourly billing and no meter running while you think it over. You'll know the full cost before any work begins. See our estate planning page for details, or try the Estate Planning Navigator to get a sense of what your plan might need.