You Served. We Help You Pursue the VA Benefits the Law Provides.
Patrick Nolan is a veteran and a Missouri attorney accredited by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Military service can lead to eligibility for important federal benefits; we help Missouri veterans and their families pursue the benefits for which they may qualify.
Military service can lead to eligibility for important federal benefits, but every program has its own requirements. Disability compensation, VA pension, health care, education, and survivor programs each carry their own eligibility rules, evidence requirements, and deadlines. Service by itself does not establish entitlement to any particular benefit.
VA claims may be denied or assigned lower ratings for many reasons, including incomplete records, inadequate examinations, overlooked favorable evidence, or legal error. Some decisions are legally and factually correct. The rules that govern all of it (38 U.S.C., 38 C.F.R., and the Appeals Modernization Act) are detailed and procedural, and the review option that fits one decision may not be available for another.
Patrick Nolan is a veteran and a Missouri attorney accredited by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which authorizes him to assist claimants in VA benefits matters once a claimant appoints him, ordinarily on VA Form 21-22a. He is also an estate-planning and elder-law attorney in Kirksville. That matters because VA benefits do not sit in isolation; they interact with MO HealthNet long-term-care rules, with your estate plan, and with your family's own planning.
How We Help Veterans and Their Families
VA Disability Claims
Service connection, disability evaluations, effective dates, and presumptive service connection, with attention to what the evidence has to show for each element. Learn more
VA Decision Reviews and Appeals
Higher-Level Review, Supplemental Claim, and Board appeal under the AMA, with attention to which option is actually available for your decision and the deadline that applies. Learn more
VA Pension and Aid & Attendance
A needs-based pension for wartime veterans and surviving spouses, with a higher pension rate for a claimant who needs regular aid and attendance. Service, age or disability, income, net worth, and transfer rules all apply. Learn more
Estate Planning for Veterans
Wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and health care directives drafted under Missouri law and coordinated with VA pension and MO HealthNet long-term-care rules. Learn more
Survivor and Dependent Benefits
DIC, CHAMPVA, and Chapter 35 education benefits are separate federal programs with separate eligibility rules. Estate-planning documents do not create federal eligibility; the planning work is to keep the records and the Missouri documents in order around them. Learn more
Straight talk about fees. Federal law (38 U.S.C. § 5904; 38 C.F.R. § 14.636) generally prohibits VA-accredited attorneys and claims agents from charging a fee for services performed before VA issues notice of its initial decision on the claim or claims involved; limited exceptions exist in the regulation. We do not charge a fee for that work. After that notice, a fee may be charged under a written agreement filed with VA. The law permits fixed, hourly, percentage, or combination fees; as a matter of this firm's policy, our agreement uses the direct-pay contingent structure permitted by law, a fee of 20 percent of past-due benefits awarded, paid by VA from those past-due benefits. The client remains responsible for reasonable out-of-pocket case expenses, such as obtaining medical records and private medical opinions, whether or not benefits are awarded. Fees and expenses are set out in writing before representation begins.
Holding a VA decision you do not agree with?
The deadline that applies to you is shown on your decision notice, and it differs by review option. Contacting the firm does not file a review request and does not suspend any VA deadline. A consultation about a VA matter is free.
How It Works
- Free consultation. Bring your DD-214, your VA decision notices, and your history. We will tell you what the notice shows about the options that appear to remain available and the deadline it sets, and if a Veterans Service Organization is the better fit for your situation, we will say so.
- Review of the decision and the record. We identify potential factual or legal errors and evidentiary gaps, and which review option is actually available for that decision.
- Representation, if the firm accepts the matter. Evidence development is planned around the option chosen, because a Higher-Level Review is decided on the record as it stood and the Board dockets have their own evidence windows. Private medical opinions may be a client expense, identified in advance. You get updates in plain English, not government-speak.
The Numbers That Matter
- 3: AMA decision-review options for many VA benefits decisions
- 1 year: A common deadline to file a Higher-Level Review or a Board appeal after a decision notice
- 120 days: The general deadline to appeal a final adverse Board decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
A Local Advocate With Coordinated Experience
VA questions rarely arrive alone. The same family is often also asking about a trust, a beneficiary deed, a farm, or MO HealthNet long-term-care eligibility. Patrick Nolan handles Missouri estate planning and elder law as well as VA benefits matters, so those pieces can be looked at together rather than in separate offices. Missouri planning services are separate services under a separate written engagement, and they are never a condition of assistance with a VA claim.
He is also the author of The Dead Man's Guide to Estate Planning, and he publishes free explanatory videos on the Pat Talks Law YouTube channel.
FAQs
What does it mean that Patrick is VA-accredited?
VA accreditation is authority granted by the VA Office of General Counsel to an individual attorney, claims agent, or recognized service-organization representative to assist claimants in VA benefits matters. Patrick Nolan is a Missouri attorney accredited by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, accreditation number 39794. Accreditation attaches to the individual, not to the firm, and it is not a specialty certification. Representation in a particular matter begins when the claimant appoints the representative, ordinarily on VA Form 21-22a. Federal rules also allow a person who lacks accreditation to assist with a single claim on an uncompensated basis under 38 C.F.R. § 14.630.
How much does it cost to talk to you about my VA claim?
Nothing. Consultations about VA matters are free. Federal law generally prohibits VA-accredited attorneys from charging a fee for services performed before VA issues notice of its initial decision on the claim or claims involved, and we do not charge one. After that notice, a fee may be charged under a written agreement filed with VA; our agreement uses the direct-pay contingent structure permitted by law, a fee of 20 percent of past-due benefits awarded, paid by VA from those past-due benefits. The client remains responsible for reasonable out-of-pocket case expenses, such as obtaining medical records and private medical opinions, whether or not benefits are awarded.
I'm not near Kirksville. Can you still help?
Usually, yes. VA benefits matters are federal, and most of the work is done by mail, by telephone, and through VA's own electronic systems, so distance is not ordinarily a barrier. Missouri legal services, such as estate planning, are separate services governed by Missouri law and a separate written engagement.
I already have a service officer (VSO). Why hire an attorney?
Veterans Service Organization representatives are accredited as well, they do good work, and they may assist free of charge with initial claims, Supplemental Claims, Higher-Level Reviews, and Board appeals. An attorney may be the better fit when a matter turns on complex medical evidence, the rating criteria, effective-date law, procedural questions, or a detailed written legal argument. An accredited attorney can review the claims record, present legal and factual arguments through the appropriate VA decision-review process and, when appropriate, discuss referral for Veterans Court review.
Is there a deadline on my VA decision?
Usually yes, and the deadline depends on the option and on the decision. A Higher-Level Review or a Board appeal generally must be filed within one year of the date on the decision notice. A Supplemental Claim may generally be filed later, but filing within that year matters for continuous pursuit, which may preserve eligibility for the earliest effective date otherwise permitted by law. Some deadlines are shorter, and a final adverse Board decision carries a separate 120-day deadline to appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. The deadline that applies to you is on your decision notice, so do not sit on a denial letter.