The pension file asks two money questions at once: what Dad has, and what comes in. The second question is usually answered from award letters and pay stubs. The first is the one families answer from memory, and memory is where the file goes wrong. This piece walks the build of a net worth ledger from the first printed statement to the signed page, in the order a reviewer will check it.[1]

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Step 1: Print the statements, do not type the balances

Pull the most recent statement for every checking account, savings account, money market, brokerage, and retirement account in Dad's name. Include any account where he is a joint owner or where a name is listed to receive the balance on death. Print each one or save it as a dated file. A balance copied from a phone app is a guess until a statement says the same thing.

Step 2: List property, and write down how each value was reached

Real estate, vehicles, and any land get their own rows. For each one, write the value and the source of that value, such as a county assessment, a dealer printout, or a written appraisal. A value with no source is the line a reviewer questions first. If Dad owns a home he lives in, do not decide its treatment on your own. VA sets its own rule for how a residence is counted, so read that rule on VA.gov before you list or leave out the house.[1]

Step 3: Mark what VA excludes and name the rule

Some items are excluded from the net worth figure, and some are counted. Next to each excluded item, write the name of the rule that excludes it. The reviewer then sees a reason, not a gap. Do not mark anything excluded because it feels personal or because the family wants it left out. Only the published rule decides that.[1]

Step 4: List transfers, including the ones that feel like gifts

Any money or property Dad gave away, sold below value, or moved into someone else's name in the look-back period belongs on its own sheet. Include the date, the amount, the recipient, and the paper that shows it. This sheet is separate from the ledger because the rule that applies to transfers is different from the rule for holdings. If a transfer is in doubt, put it on the sheet and ask the office that reviews it how it is treated.[1]

Step 5: Cross-check the total against the published limit

Find the net worth limit on VA.gov on the day you file, not the number from a brochure or an old letter. Compare your total to that limit. If the total is close, go back to Steps 2 and 4 before anyone signs, because a close total is where small valuation choices matter most.[1]

Step 6: Sign only the version you can defend line by line

Keep the ledger, the statements, the valuation sources, and the transfer sheet in one folder with a copy of exactly what was submitted. Dad, or the person authorized to sign for him, signs the statement. If someone else prepared the figures, that person should be named on the cover sheet so the file shows who built each part. The free counseling desks listed on Local Help: St. Louis Offices can check the ledger against your folder before it goes out.

Notes

[1] VA.gov, Veterans Pension benefits pages on income and net worth rules. Check the current version on the filing day. This briefing does not restate figures that change from year to year. Source list: Sources.