Veteran Service Officer (VSO) Top Predicted Questions and Correct Answers

VBM - Veterans Benefit Manual An Advocates 1st Rule? - Do no harm What document is required to represent a Veteran? - Power of Attorney(POA) Can there be more than one POA active at any given time? - No, there cannot be more than one POA active at the same time BVA - Board of Veterans Appeals How many regional offices are there nationally? - 58 VA has a duel role when it comes to claims, those are? - Be a friend to the Veterans but also be a guardian of the tax payer How can a claimant reopen a case filed by the VA as "final?" - By presenting new and material evidence What is new evidence? - Evidence that has not already been submitted to the VA What is material evidence? - Evidence that helps prove a previously unproven fact When can the VA deny a claim? - If the weight of the evidence is (more than half) against the claim Duty to Assist - VA has the duty to assist claimants who submit a reasonably possible claim in developing evidence to support their claims What helps makes an advocates claim successful - Present reasons why the benefit should be granted and cite appropriate statues and regulations using the VA's adjudication procedures manual (M21-1MR). M21-1MR - VA's Adjudication Procedures Manual What are the 3 elements of a disability compensation claim? - 1. Veteran must currently suffer a disability or have suffered from disability since the claim was filed 2. Must be some incident in service that could have caused the condition and 3. There must be some way of linking that current condition to that incident.