Frequently Asked Questions

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A Veterans Service Organization can represent you at no charge, and for many veterans, especially at the initial claim stage, a good VSO is the right call. We'll tell you that to your face.

Where attorney representation earns its keep is on appeal: 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 it's the work we do. Since our fee only exists if we win you past-due benefits, the question isn't what a lawyer costs. It's whether your case needs one. Ask us and we'll give you a straight answer either way.

Federal law does not allow attorneys or agents to charge a fee for preparing an initial claim, and anyone who charges you for that is breaking the rules. For a first-time filing, a VSO can help you at no cost, or you can file yourself at VA.gov.

Our work begins once the VA has made a decision you disagree with: a denial, a rating that's too low, or an effective date that shortchanges you. That's when the law allows representation for a fee, and that's where appeals experience matters.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.