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Macvrlamm,

I too am awaiting all of this fiduciary appointment and release of backpay fiasco...and I'm not happy about it by any means. Filed claim in 6/16/2010 after two involuntary psych hospitalizations that month, got rated and increased on 3/9/2011...with that dreaded issue of competency proposed. To speed up the process, I sent a statement waiving the 60 day period as well as the Brady Act and all due process, and asked my wife be appointed and sent her SSN#, DL#, And filled out a Statement in Support of Fiduciary Appointment (I forget the VA form#), and sent that too. On 4/8/2011 got a decision rating (which never appeared on Ebenefits at all) saying a decision was made on 4/4/2011, and I've been found Incompetent--I too had statements from the psych hospital and C&P examiner stating I wasn't competent, so I decided not to fight 'em and just waive the process, since as your letter stated also, mine said "there's definitive statement from a physician in your case, so we propose to rate you incompetent" etc, etc.

My award letter says the increased $654 a month and backpay is being withheld from effective date of July 1, 2010 to April 1,2011 when the withholding will end. Trouble is, when April 1st came, we still didn't get the increase that month either, although it did just appear in this month's direct deposit (May 2011). So all in all, I'm having 10 months of backpay @ $654/month withheld from July 2010 to April 2011---which I really need, as I'm facing hardship since the wife had to stop working to care and watch me. I let the VARO in St. Pete know I was having hardship, sent every repo, eviction, or lights off notice I got to the VARO and my DAV rep, begging these Fiduciary people to please either release my backpay for these emergency situations, or please immediately come interview me and my wife (or whoever they choose as fiduciary, since they have that power). Was told the Fiduciary Dept. in St. Petersburg, Fl doesn't take incoming calls, but had acknowledged my hardship to expedite the process as of 4/12/2011. I then called again two days later on 4/14/2011 and asked that if the Fiduciary section won't take calls, will the 1800# rep make a note that I'd like to be contacted/interviewed ASAP to appoint fiduciary and release backpay due to hardship, since I'd already been officially rated Incompetent on 4/4/2011....AND NOW, 3 weeks later, with bill collectors still harrasing and threatening to take the cars I try to explain to them that I've got a big back pay coming from the VA at some date and time, but I simply don't know when I'll have it--needless to say many of them don't listen or think I'm lying...so I too continue to sit here, already rated Incompetent--which means I lost my ability to own firearms (broke my heart), awaiting the VA to take their sweet time and have some Field Examiner come out to my home and interview me and/or my wife if they do indeed select her as my Fiduciary.

I tell you what, if I lose one damn piece of property over all this withholding of my backpay and waiting for the VA to take their sweet time to appoint Fiduciary/interview me WHEN THEY KNOW FOR CERTAIN AND HAVE IT ON RECORD THAT I'M FACING HARDSHIP FROM ALL OF THIS WAITING, WITH HARDSHIP EVIDENCE TO BOOT, I'm gonna raise hell to this Field Examiner person and blame them for loss of our possessions and ability to survive, when it's THEM whose holding on to the backpay that could was duly awarded and could damn well save our lives. My wife cries and is confused by all of this, and so am I, but I can do nothing but smoke my cigarettes, remain depressed, dodge the repo men and bill collectors, and pray that soon one of these days, this interview will come and we can find out who my fiduciary will be, and finally get my backpay release (10 months worth, remember?!). Oh, by the way, after the Incompetency rating was made on 4/4/2011, 3 days later a claim was opened on Ebenefits on 4/7/2011 that says "Fiduciary Adjustment" under the claim type (which I suppose means fiduciary appointment?) which continues to sit in the Development phase to this day 5/5/2011, although I've received no letters or any kind of correspondence concerning it.

I hate to say this, but all of this has depressed me so badly, to KNOW THAT THEIR WITHHOLDING MY BACKPAY WHEN THEY OFFICIALLY KNOW I'M FACING HARDSHIP, that I've truly come to believe that I wish I woulda been KIA over there, rather than to have to return home and live under such chaos and confusion from the VA.

Long story-short...I understand your dilemma and am still in the same boat with you, INCLUDING not receiving your increased pay once the withholding was supposed to stop, according to your award letter--which means another month of being short-handed over this Incompetency-Fiduciary nightmare. Keep your head up, hopefully we'll both somehow get through this before it kills us or tears our family apart (we've already been brought to our knees!)