General Information on Incompetency and Fiduciary Cases

Overview

In This Section

This section contains the following topics:

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1. Requesting the Appointment (Certification) of a Fiduciary

Introduction

This topic provides information on the authorization activity’s responsibility for requesting the appointment of a fiduciary in some cases involving incompetent and minor beneficiaries, including

• circumstances under which it is appropriate to request the appointment (certification) of a fiduciary
• requesting appointment of a fiduciary for insurance proceeds
• preparing VA Form 21-592, Request for Appointment of a Fiduciary, Custodian or Guardian, to request the appointment of a fiduciary
• fiduciary hub (hub) jurisdictions and contact information
• referring status inquiries after uploading VA Form 21-592
• requesting a temporary fiduciary
• restricting notification to anyone outside of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) of a pending request for fiduciary appointment, and
• handling incoming fiduciary-related documents and correspondence.

Change Date

January 12, 2026

X.ii.6.C.1.a. Circumstances Under Which It Is Appropriate to Request the Appointment (Certification) of a Fiduciary

Request the appointment (certification) of a fiduciary when

• benefits are payable to a beneficiary who is
• rated incompetent by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), including Veterans rated incompetent who are receiving hospital, nursing home, or domiciliary care by VA
• under legal disability, or
• under the age of majority (a minor), or
• the beneficiary is a child who is in the custody of a natural or adoptive parent or stepparent.

Notes:

• When the beneficiary is a child in the custody of a natural or adoptive parent or stepparent, recognize the parent as the custodian for direct payment of monthly benefits but withhold any retroactive payments pending the appointment of a fiduciary, per 38 U.S.C. 5502(a)(1), by following the procedures in M21-1, Part X, Subpart ii, 6.E.4.
• In most cases, fiduciary hubs (hubs) are responsible for requesting the appointment of a fiduciary. Regional offices (ROs) must use a VA Form 21-592, Request for Appointment of a Fiduciary, Custodian or Guardian, to request the appointment of a fiduciary when
• a court has determined that the beneficiary is incompetent
• VA benefits are granted to a beneficiary who is a minor
• VA is processing an incompetent beneficiary’s claim through the Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES)
• a Restricted Access Claims Center (RACC) has jurisdiction over an incompetent beneficiary’s claim, or
• VA is processing the claim of an incompetent foreign beneficiary.
• The definition of the terms appointment and certification are essentially the same for the purposes of this section. The certification is the signature on the VA Form 21P-555, Certificate of Legal Capacity to Receive and Disburse Benefits and Fee Authorization.
• The term guardian, for Fiduciary Program purposes, applies to a court-appointed guardian, conservator, trustee, committee or other term used to denote a court-appointed responsibility for another person and/or property.

References: For more information on

• processing a judicial determination of incompetency, see M21-1, Part X, Subpart ii, 6.D.2.g
• evaluating competency when the beneficiary is found incompetent by court decree, see M21-1, Part X, Subpart ii, 6.A.5.b
• requesting the appointment of a fiduciary for a minor beneficiary, see M21-1, Part X, Subpart ii, 6.C.1.c
• IDES, see M21-1, Part X, Subpart i, 6.E
• RACCs, see M21-1, Part II, Subpart ii, 2.B, and
• the definition of mental incompetency, see 38 CFR 3.353(a).

X.ii.6.C.1.b. Requesting Appointment of a Fiduciary for Insurance Proceeds

Request the appointment of a fiduciary for the purpose of paying VA insurance proceeds for a beneficiary who

• VA has determined unable to manage benefits
• a court of jurisdiction declared unable to manage affairs, or
• is a minor.

Example: A fiduciary must be certified for a minor beneficiary entitled to insurance payments.

Reference: For more information on competency determinations for the Insurance Center, see M21-1, Part X, Subpart ii, 6.G.

X.ii.6.C.1.c. Preparing VA Form 21-592 to Request the Appointment of a Fiduciary

In order to prepare a VA Form 21-592 for review and action by a hub

• populate all applicable fields on the VA Form 21-592
• upload a portable document format version of the completed VA Form 21-592 to the beneficiary’s electronic claims folder (eFolder), and
• establish an end product (EP) 290–FID Fiduciary Adjustment and upon establishment of this claim label, National Work Queue will route the EP 290 to the appropriate hub of jurisdiction for action.

Exception: When an award is authorized for a minor beneficiary, an EP 590, Expedited Initial Appointment Field Examination, is automatically established. In these cases, only establish the EP 290 - FID Fiduciary Adjustment, when the EP 590 was not automatically established by the system.

Note: When completing a VA Form 21-592

• to the extent possible, use street addresses, not U.S. Post Office box numbers, when making entries for Blocks 7, 9, 14A, 15A, and 19, and
• sign Block 24 in the following format: [preparer’s local area network identification] for VSCM.

Example: VSCJSMIT for VSCM.

References: For more information on

• hub jurisdictions and contact information, see M21-1, Part X, Subpart ii, 6.C.1.d, and
• uploading documents to the Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS), see the VBMS Job Aid – Adding Documents in VBMS eFolders.

X.ii.6.C.1.d. Hub Jurisdictions and Contact Information

In order to determine and identify the correct hub of jurisdiction, consider the place of residence of the

• minor or incompetent beneficiary for an initial appointment of a fiduciary, or
• fiduciary, once one has been appointed.

Important: Hubs are restricted from completing Fiduciary Program activities on any RACC cases where the beneficiary is an employee-Veteran or relative of an employee associated with the hub of jurisdiction. As a result, when the hub of jurisdiction receives a RACC case, the necessary Fiduciary Program activities will be completed by a sister hub.

Exception: For RACC cases that require a face-to-face field examination, the sister hub must work with the original hub of jurisdiction to ensure completion of the examination by an impartial Field Examiner.

Use the table below to determine the jurisdiction, contact information, and sister hub for each of the hubs.

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Note: Refer incoming fiduciary-related documents and correspondence

• to the fiduciary scanning vendor’s address for processing by the hub through the centralized mail (CM) portal, or
• to be uploaded directly into the CM portal via an approved VA claims submission service website such as QuickSubmit.

References: For more information on

• when to use the Restricted Access corporate flash, see M21-4, Appendix E, 1.b
• RACC cases, see M21-1, Part II, Subpart ii, 2.B
• the shipping address for the fiduciary scanning vendor, see M21-1, Part II, Subpart i, 1.A.2.c
• QuickSubmit, see M21-1, Part II, Subpart i, 1.A.3, and
• handling incoming fiduciary-related documents and correspondence, see M21-1, Part X, Subpart ii, 6.C.1.h.

X.ii.6.C.1.e. Referring Status Inquiries After Uploading VA Form 21-592

After uploading a VA Form 21-592 for review and action by the hub of jurisdiction, refer inquiries regarding the status of the corresponding case to the same hub. It is the responsibility of hubs to respond to such inquiries.

X.ii.6.C.1.f. Requesting a Temporary Fiduciary

Hubs have authority under 38 U.S.C. 5507(d) to appoint a temporary fiduciary to protect the VA benefit payments of a beneficiary while a determination of competency is being made or is under decision review or legacy appeal. VA may appoint a temporary fiduciary only when there is clear evidence the

• beneficiary’s VA funds are being misused, or
• beneficiary is unable or unwilling to use the funds for urgent needs.

Note: The hub’s authorization activity is responsible for processing requests for temporary fiduciaries, but there are exceptions when ROs bear the responsibility for requesting a temporary fiduciary.

Reference: For more information on the appointment of temporary fiduciaries, see FPM, Part I, 5.B.

X.ii.6.C.1.g. Restricting Notification to Anyone Outside of VA of a Pending Request for Fiduciary Appointment

Do not notify anyone outside VA of a pending request for the appointment of a fiduciary in order to avoid the unnecessary appointment of a guardian or the appointment of an unsuitable person as a guardian.

X.ii.6.C.1.h. Handling Incoming Fiduciary-Related Documents and Correspondence

Refer all incoming fiduciary-related documents and correspondence to the fiduciary scanning vendor if

• the beneficiary has been rated incompetent, or
• a proposed incompetency determination is pending with a hub.

Reference: For more information about shipping mail to the scanning vendor, see M21-1, Part II, Subpart i, 1.A.2.c.

2. Suspending Beneficiary Payments Pending the Development of an Incompetency Issue or the Appointment or Change of a Fiduciary

Introduction

This topic provides information on authorization activity’s responsibility, in some cases, for suspending beneficiary payments pending the development of an incompetency issue or the appointment or change of a fiduciary, including

• determining whether suspension of a beneficiary’s payments is appropriate, and
• system entries when
• suspending a beneficiary’s payments, and
• resuming suspended payments.

Change Date

July 18, 2015

X.ii.6.C.2.a. Determining Whether Suspension of a Beneficiary’s Payments Is Appropriate

Do not routinely suspend direct payments to a beneficiary pending the development of an issue of incompetency or certification of a fiduciary.

If evidence indicates that a beneficiary is not receiving or is being deprived of the full benefits being paid, it is possible to

• withhold payment, and
• request that the hub provide an expedited appointment of a fiduciary.

If entitlement to benefits has been established but no payment has been made or if increased benefits are payable, determine whether or not benefits should be paid directly pending hub appointment/certification. When making the determination, consider if delaying payment of the benefits would cause undue hardship for the beneficiary.

X.ii.6.C.2.b. System Entries When Suspending a Beneficiary’s Payments

When suspending benefit payments to a beneficiary pending the appointment or change of a fiduciary

• select Other from the dropdown box in the DECISION field on the BASIC ELIGIBILITY tab in VBMS-Awards (VBMS-A), and
• leave the following remark regarding the suspension in VBMS-A: Beneficiary incompetent - appointment of fiduciary pending.

Reference: For more information on taking the actions described in this block, see the VBMS Awards User Guide.

X.ii.6.C.2.c. System Entries When Resuming Suspended Payments

When resuming suspended payments pending the appointment or change of a fiduciary, select Eligible Beneficiary from the dropdown box in the DECISION field on the BASIC ELIGIBILITY tab if payments were suspended by routine processing.

Do not enter prior net award data unless the amended award affects an adjustment prior to the date in the LAST PAID DATE field on the AWARD INFORMATION tab in Share.

Reference: For more information on taking the actions described in this block, see the VBMS Awards User Guide.

3. Notifying the Philadelphia Insurance Center of Changes in a Beneficiary’s Competency Status and/or Fiduciary

Introduction

This topic contains information on notifying the Philadelphia Insurance Center of changes in a beneficiary’s competency status and/or fiduciary, including

• hub responsibility to forward VA Form 21P-555 to the Philadelphia Insurance Center, and
• handling requests initiated by the Philadelphia Insurance Center.

Change Date

September 9, 2019

X.ii.6.C.3.a. Hub Responsibility to Forward VA Form 21P-555 to the Philadelphia Insurance Center

Hubs are responsible for forwarding copies of completed VA Forms 21P-555 to the Philadelphia Insurance Center for the Philadelphia Insurance Center’s use in updating insurance records.

X.ii.6.C.3.b. Handling Requests Initiated by the Philadelphia Insurance Center

For information on handling competency determination requests from the Philadelphia Insurance Center, see M21-1, Part X, Subpart ii, 6.G.