Click on other tabs above for information about legal aid providers and courts in your area. Below is legal information on this sub-topic. You can localize this information by clicking on the"Choose Another Location" link in the right column and selecting the area where you live.
Online Applications, Benefit Screening, Resources and Forms
Veterans ON-line APPlication Website (VONAPP)
(Separate Website)
The VONAPP (Veterans On Line Applications) website is an official U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) website which allows veterans to apply for certain benefits through the Internet.
By: United States Department of Veterans Affairs
GovBenefits.gov
(Separate Website)
GovBenefits.gov is a free, online confidential tool that helps you find government benefits you may be eligible to receive.
By: GovBenefits.gov, a partnership of many Federal agencies and organizations
Read this in:
Spanish / Español
Petition to Waive Court Costs
Click the document title to be linked to LawHelp Interactive where you can prepare a Petition to Waive Court Fees which can be used to ask the Pennsylvania Court for permission to file legal papers for free. This form can be used in most types of court cases in Pennsylvania. Approval to waive fees is not automatic. You will need to ask the Court to approve your Petition. Instructions will be included. PLEASE NOTE: This is NOT a fill-in-the-blank form; you will need to answer questions while connected to the Internet.
IMPORTANT: To use this form, you must use Internet Explorer as your browser and Microsoft Word to print your documents.
By: North Penn Legal Services
Interactive Forms from Stateside Legal
(Separate Website)
Stateside Legal, a website providing legal help for military members, veterans and their families, has partnered with several organizations to bring free interactive legal forms to individuals with military connections.
The interactive forms are available free of charge to all persons. The system is easy to use and provides several sample forms and letters in legal areas that may benefit IMC.
By: Stateside Legal
Stateside Legal
(Separate Website)
This national resource is for members of the military, veterans, their families and advocates. It goal is to help you:
-- access benefits
-- find free legal help, and
-- better understand your legal issues
This site indexes the best legal information available in one easy-to-use website that includes interactive forms, videos, and legal analysis.
Helpful Information from Stateside Legal
(Separate Website)
This national resource is for members of the military, veterans, their families and advocates. This link takes you to a page where you can locate information by general legal topics.
By: Stateside Legal
The American Veterans and Servicemembers Survival Guide: How to Cut Through the Bureaucracy and Get What You Need - and are Entitled To.
(Separate Website)
The American Servicemembers and Veterans Survival Guide describes in depth the problems of the vet and servicemember (and his or her family), the benefits and services available to him or her (and family) and the veterans and servicemembers issues that will be decided in the next several years. It helps the veteran and servicemember understand how various agencies work not just in theory but in practice and how he or she can cut through the bureaucracy and confusion and get the benefits and services to which he or she is entitled.
By: National Veterans Legal Services Program
YOUR APPEAL To The U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
(Separate Website)
The Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program provides: free attorneys to veterans and their qualifying family members who have an appeal pending at the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). If an appellant has filed an appeal with the Court and has been unable to obtain his or her own attorney after 30 days, he or she can request assistance from The Veterans Consortium.
By: Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program
The Board of Veterans Appeals
(Separate Website)
The Board of Veterans' Appeals (also known as "BVA" or "the Board") is a part of the VA, located in Washington, D.C. Members of the Board review benefit claims determinations made by local VA offices and issue decision on appeals. This is a gateway to information abuot the Board of Veterans' Appeals and the appeals process.
By: United States Department of Veterans Affairs
Employment Resources
(Separate Website)
Information about employment services for veterans
By: United States Department of Veterans Affairs
ESGR Ombudsman Toolkit
(Separate Website)
The ESGR Ombudsmen Services Program was established to address potential problems arising among the nation's employers who may question the need to have some of their employees serve in the National Guard and Reserve in a purely voluntary military system. The program provides information, counseling, and informal mediation of issues relating to compliance with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).
By: Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve
TurboTAP.org - The official Transition Assistance Program (TAP) Website
(Separate Website)
Website of the Transition Assistance Program (TAP), a nationally coordinated effort of the Department of Veterans Affairs to assist military men and women in the transition to civilian life through employment and job training assistance, and the Disabled Transition Assistance Program (DTAP), which helps servicemembers separated for medical reasons.
By: United States Department of Defense
e-VETS Resource Advisor
(Separate Website)
The e-VETS Resource Advisor assists veterans preparing to enter the job market. It includes information on a broad range of topics, such as job search tools and tips, employment openings, career assessment, education and training, and benefits and special services available to veterans.
By: United States Department of Labor
Veterans Employment Website (FedsHireVets.gov)
(Separate Website)
This Website is a source for Federal employment information for Veterans, transitioning service members, their families, Federal HR professionals and hiring managers.
By: U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Veterans' Preference Advisor
(Separate Website)
The Veterans' Preference Advisor allows Veterans to examine the preferences for which they might be entitled with regard to Federal jobs.
By: United States Department of Labor
Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment VetSuccess Program
(Separate Website)
Information on the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) VetSuccess program which assists Veterans with service-connected disabilities to prepare for, find, and keep suitable jobs. For Veterans with service-connected disabilities so severe that they cannot immediately consider work, VetSuccess offers services to improve their ability to live as independently as possible.
By: United States Department of Veterans Affairs
Your Rights Under USERRA - The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act
(Separate Website)
USERRA protects the job rights of individuals who voluntarily or involuntarily leave employment positions to undertake military service or certain types of service in the National Disaster Medical System. USERRA also prohibits employers from discriminating against past and present members of the uniformed services, and applicants to the uniformed services.
By: United States Department of Labor
Reservists Called To Active Duty
(Separate Website)
Information on the rights of Reserve and National Guard units called to active duty with respect to the retirement and health benefits provided by their private-sector employers as they prepare to be deployed.
By: United States Department of Labor
Transition Assistance Guide for Demobilizing Members of the National Guard and Reserves
(Separate Website)
This guide is designed to assist demobilizing members of the National Guard and Reserves in transitioning back to civilian life.
By: U.S. Department of Defense
Federal Benefits for Veterans and Dependents
(Separate Website)
The current edition of this booklet lists the variety of federal benefits available to veterans and their dependents.
By: United States Department of Veterans Affairs
Other Formats:
PDF File
Read this in:
Spanish / Español
VA Programs for Homeless Veterans
(Separate Website)
Information about programs offered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to help veterans who may be homeless or at risk of losing their home.
By: United States Department of Veterans Affairs
Retirement & Health Care Benefits... Questions & Answers for Reservists
(Separate Website)
This publication provides questions and answers for reservists about their rights protecting their retirement benefits and the health benefit options available to their family members to maintain health coverage during the time of active duty.
By: United States Department of Labor
Veterans with Service-Connected Disabilities in the Workplace and the ADA
(Separate Website)
This guide answers questions that veterans with service-connected disabilities may have about the protections they are entitled to when they seek to return to their former jobs or look to find their first, or new, civilian jobs. It also explains changes or adjustments that veterans may need, because of their injuries, to apply for, or perform, a job, or to enjoy equal access to the workplace.
By: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Retired and Annuitant Pay Information
(Separate Website)
Information about retirement and annuitant pay.
By: Defense Finance and Accounting Service
Garnishment: Military
(Separate Website)
List of resources and sources of information regarding garnishment of military wages.
By: U.S. Defense Finance and Accounting Service
Child Support and Alimony - Payment Information
(Separate Website)
Federal law authorizes the pay of active, reserve, and retired members of the military and the pay of civilian employees of the Federal government to be garnished (or attached) for the payment of child and/or spousal support. Go to this web page to find information about the process and location for getting a garnishment or wage attachment against any member of the military or any civilian employee of the Department of Defense (DOD).
By: Defense Finance and Accounting Service
Uniformed Services Former Spouse's Protection Act
(Separate Website)
Information on the Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act which recognizes the right of state courts to distribute military retired pay to a spouse or former spouse and provides a method of enforcing these orders through the Department of Defense. The Act also provides a method of enforcing current child support and/or arrears and current alimony awarded in the court order.
By: Defense Finance and Accounting Service
Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act Q&A
(Separate Website)
This document answers common questions about the Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act which covers enforcement of child support, alimony, and other obligations that members of the Armed Services have toward their spouses and children.
By: Defense Finance and Accounting Service
Disability Benefits For Wounded Warriors - Social Security Administration
(Separate Website)
Military service members can receive expedited processing of disability claims from Social Security. Benefits available through Social Security are different than those from the Department of Veterans Affairs and require a separate application.
The expedited process is used for military service members who become disabled while on active military service on or after October 1, 2001, regardless of where the disability occurs.
By: Social Security Administration
Read this in:
Spanish / Español
Social Security for Wounded Warriors (Webinar/Video)
(Separate Website)
This SSA webinar explains the Social Security disability claims process and expedited processing available to wounded warriors. This outreach program will provide general information about Social Security disability benefits as well as topics unique to wounded warriors. (Recorded 11/4/2009)
By: Social Security Administration
Organizations Offering Assistance to Veterans Essential List of Organizations Helping Military Families in Need --compilation of organizations that provide help with disability claims, discharge disputes, VA guidance and legal conflicts. Some provide job training, continued education and connections to employers. Others offer medical care, psychological treatment, crisis counseling and emotional healing
By: Veterans United for Truth
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