Answer:

Our office hours are Monday thru Friday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. thru 5 p.m. The office is closed each day from 12 p.m. until 1 p.m.

Answer:

There is no fee for our services. We are Harnett County employees and the county has hired us to provide these services to Harnett County veterans' and their family members.

Answer:

If this is your initial claim or you have recently move to Harnett County, we would need the following documentation:

• DD-214 Member 4/Discharge Paperwork (Older Veterans)/Separation documents (NGB 22/Retirement orders)
• Bring a list of issues you want to claim after reviewing your service medical & dental records (If you have the original copy of your medical, dental, & personnel records the VA would need them turned in.)
• Any medical evidence related to your issues or injury for example non-DoD/VA medical records, NEXUS Letter, Buddy Statements, scientific evidence, pictures, and anything you believe help your case. If you do have outside medical records, you can ask the VA to gather those records. You would need to know where to get those records. The VA will only try couple of time and/or told there is a fee, the VA will not pay any fees. It is your responsibility to ensure the VA receive your evidence.
• Voided check or your bank direct deposit form.
• If you are adding dependents, we would need the marriage certificate, children birth certificate, know the dependents SSN, and if the veteran or spouse has prior marriages you will need the following information (a) Where and When the marriage took place. (b) The name of the other person. (c) How the marriage ended (Divorce/Death/Annulment). (d) Where and when the marriage ended. 

Answer:

There are many types of identification cards you can use to show you're a Veteran. The following are the type of Veterans' ID Cards:

• Department of Defense Identification Card
  • DoD link will explain how to attain your DoD ID Card: DoD Identification Card
• Veteran Health Identification Card
  • VA.gov link will explain how to attain your VA Health ID Card: Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC)
• Veteran ID Card
  • VA,gov link will explain how to attain your Veteran ID Card: VA Veteran ID Card
• Veteran's designation on a state-issued driver's license or ID
  • NCDMV Link will tell you what you would need to receive this designation on your driver's license or ID: NCDMV "Veteran" Driver License Designation

We are here to assist you in attaining your ID card, you could have to call and make an appointment and have the required documents if needed. The two easiest way to get a Veteran Identification is either going to enroll into the VA Healthcare system or through the NCDMV. 

Answer:

The process of preparing a discharge upgrade or correction application can be a lot of work and can take a long time. Although many Veterans are successful on their own, you may want to consider finding someone to advocate for you in this process. Try a Veterans Service Organization (VSO), search online for a lawyer who may provide services for low or no cost, or ask other Veterans for recommendations. 

All branches of the military consider you to have a strong case for a discharge upgrade if you can show your discharge was connected to any of these categories:

• Mental health conditions, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) 
• Traumatic brain injury (TBI) 
• Sexual assault or harassment during military service (at VA, we refer to this as military sexual trauma or MST) 
• Sexual orientation (including under the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy)

VA looks at the “character of discharge” to determine whether a person meets the basic eligibility requirements for receipt of VA benefits under title 38 of the United States Code. Any discharge under honorable conditions satisfies the character of discharge requirement for basic eligibility for VA benefits. Certain types of discharges, along with the circumstances surrounding those discharges, bar an individual from basic eligibility for VA benefits. Other types of discharges require VA to make a character of discharge determination in order to assess basic eligibility for VA benefits. Link below is to the VA Fact Sheet on Character of Discharge.

Claims for VA Benefits and Character of Discharge Fact Sheet

Attachment 

Dept. of VA Website

Answer:

N.C.G.S 105-277.1C allows an exclusion for a permanent residence owned and occupied by an owner who is a North Carolina resident and who meets the following criteria:

• Property owner must be a veteran or a never-remarried surviving spouse of a veteran of any branch of the U.S. Armed Forces with an Honorable or Under Honorable Conditions discharge.
• If owned by a veteran who must be (1) have a permanent and total service-connected disability of 100% or (2) receive benefits for Specially Adapted Housing under 38 U.S.C. 2101 Acquisition and Adaptation of housing:eligible veterans.
  • or
• If owned by surviving spouse: The property owner must be the surviving spouse of either (1) a veteran who had a permanent and total service-connected disability or (2) a veteran that received benefits for Specially Adapted Housing under 38 U.S.C. 2101 or (3) a veteran who died as a result of a service-connected condition.

The Disabled Veterans Property Exclusion is the first $45,000 of your assessed real property value. Co-owner who are not spouses and who are individually eligible for the benefit will receive no more than the first $45,000 of the assessed real property. $45,000 is the maximum allowed exclusion for property tax relief N.C.G.A 105.277.1C.

If I meet the criteria, what is my next step?

1. Complete Section 1 and 2 of the NCDVA-9 form.
2. Take the form to your local County Veteran Service Office for certification. You will need the following documents: DD-214 and current VA letter that shows when you became permanent and total or received Specially Adaptive Housing.
3. Once certified, submit the NCDVA-9 form and Form AV-9 Application for Property Tax Relief to your local county tax office.

The date for timely submission of documents to your county tax office is June 1st of the current year. We recommend that you submit NCDVA-9 form to the County Veteran Service Office well in advance of June 1st to allow sufficient time for the certification process.

Attachment 

Harnett County Tax Office