Standard Direct-Pay Representation
A 20% contingency, with no cost up front and nothing out of pocket. When we win, the VA withholds our fee from your past-due award and pays us directly under 38 CFR §14.636(h). You do not pay us, the back pay does.
Option 1 You’re hereStandard Direct-Pay
of back pay · VA pays us
Cleaner, more recent, single-issue denials.
Viewing this option
Option 2High-Complexity
of back pay · high-complexity cases
TDIU, stuck ratings, CUE, heavy multi-issue evidence.
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Option 3Mission 5 Brief
flat fee · forensic roadmap
A 7-section forensic report + strategy call before you commit.
View this optionAt a Glance
20%
Contingency Fee
of past-due benefits only
$0
Out of Pocket
no retainer, no hourly charge
The VA
Who Pays
direct-pay under 38 CFR §14.636(h)
3+
Appeals Included
same issue, up to the Board
It Starts With the Forensic Review Every Client Gets
Before we file anything, your file gets the same forensic review every one of our clients receives, a careful read of your C-file, medical records, and rating decisions to find what the VA got wrong. On the standard track, that review confirms the case is cleaner and more recent, and that it can be won without the heavy, multi-year development a complex file demands.
How the Money Flows, Step by Step
We Win Your Claim
The VA issues a favorable decision with a retroactive award (back pay) from your effective date.
VA Withholds 20%
Under 38 CFR §14.636(h), the VA automatically withholds 20% of the past-due amount and pays it directly to us.
You Receive 80%
The remaining 80% of the retroactive award is deposited directly into your bank account. You never write us a check.
Monthly Pay Is 100% Yours
Every future monthly compensation payment goes entirely to you, no percentage, no recurring charge, no fine print.
The Cleanest Arrangement of the Three
This is the only option where you are never in the middle of the money. The VA withholds 20% and pays us directly, you receive the rest. If the VA miscalculates the withholding, we take it up with the VA, not with you. And the fee applies per recovery. Each condition is its own case; each favorable decision that produces back pay is its own recovery, and a new appeal or claim is always a new written agreement.
A Lot of Representation for 20%
This is our bread and butter, and it is a lot of representation for 20%. There is no cost up front and no money out of your pocket. This is the right lane when the case is cleaner and more recent: a straightforward denial or under-rating (generally within about the last year), a discrete or single issue, available and usable medical evidence, a routine Higher-Level Review or Supplemental Claim, a rating increase, or a clear duty-to-assist error.
What 20% Covers
- Prepping and organizing your claim the right way
- Answering the VA’s notices and development letters
- Helping you write a strong personal statement
- Filling out the other VA forms correctly
- Challenging inadequate C&P exams (DeLuca, Sharp, Nieves-Rodriguez)
- Re-strategizing after each VA decision
- All calls, emails, and consultations while we represent you
- Appeals up to and including the Board of Veterans’ Appeals
We Are Aggressive Filers
We do not file once and walk away. We have a clear appeal process: on the same issue, we will appeal at least three times. After the third denial on that issue, we take it to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals.
Think about what that means. We carry you from the first fight all the way up to the Board, and for the standard file, that is all covered by the 20%. That is significant.
Who This Is Best For
Standard representation fits cases where the fight is clear and the evidence already exists. It is not built for files that need years of records work or a brand new medical theory. If your situation matches one of the four cards below, this is likely your lane. Your part is to be honest with me about your file, including old denials and missing records, so we put you in the right agreement from day one.
A recent denial or under-rating
A straightforward denial or lowball rating, generally within about the last 12 months, on a discrete or single issue.
Clean, available evidence
The medical evidence exists and is usable, you are not missing the nexus or fighting a decade of buried records.
A routine HLR or Supplemental
A Higher-Level Review, Supplemental Claim, or rating increase that does not require years of original development.
A clear duty-to-assist error
The VA missed something it was legally required to do under 38 CFR §3.159, and that error is identifiable and fixable on appeal.
If your file is a multi-year, high-development case, prior Board denials, CUE, complex TDIU or effective-date fights, the forensic review will tell us, and High-Complexity Representation is the honest lane for it. Same depth of review; different scope of work.
The Regulatory Framework
38 U.S.C. §5904, governs fees charged by VA-accredited agents and attorneys. No fee may attach until after the agency of original jurisdiction issues its first decision and the fee agreement is on file.
38 CFR §14.636(e)-(f), a fee of 20% or less of past-due benefits is presumed reasonable, while a fee above 33⅓% is presumed unreasonable. A fee in between, such as 30%, carries no automatic presumption and remains reviewable for reasonableness.
38 CFR §14.636(h), authorizes direct payment: the VA withholds the fee from the claimant’s retroactive award and pays the representative directly. The veteran never handles the fee.
Per-recovery billing, each condition is its own case. Each favorable decision that produces back pay is its own recovery. A new appeal or claim always requires a new written agreement.
Understand How the VA Calculates Your Rating
Your combined rating decides your monthly compensation and your retroactive award. This is the math the VA actually uses. The VA does not simply add your percentages. Under 38 CFR 4.25, each rating applies only to what is left of your remaining efficiency, then the total rounds to the nearest 10. That is why two ratings that look like 80% can land at 70%. Before we file, I run your numbers so you know exactly what each condition can add.
Why 50% + 30% Does NOT Equal 80%
The VA uses “whole-person” math, not simple addition. This is how ratings really stack.
The VA always begins from a whole, healthy person (100%).
50% of 100 is subtracted. You have 50% “efficiency” left.
30% is taken from the REMAINING 50 (0.30 × 50 = 15). 50 − 15 = 35 left.
100 − 35 = 65, then rounded to the nearest 10 → 70%.
Bottom line: 50% and 30% combine to 65% → rounded to 70%, not 80%. The same math turns two 50% ratings into 75% → rounded to 80%, not 100%. Every rating you add is worth less than the last. That is why which conditions you claim, and in what order, matters as much as how many.
The Foundation of Every Claim We File
Every condition we pursue must meet this three-prong test. If any prong is missing, we identify it during the forensic review and build toward it. That means a current diagnosis in your records, an in-service event, injury, or exposure the VA can find, and a medical link between the two. Your part is to tell us about every provider and every incident, even the ones you think do not matter.
The Three Foundations of Direct Service Connection
For direct service connection, the record generally must establish all three. Presumptive, secondary, aggravation, increased-rating, TDIU, and SMC claims follow different or additional standards.
Current Diagnosis
A present, medically documented condition. In most cases a current diagnosis is the clearest foundation, the VA rarely rates a condition it has not confirmed. Narrow legal exceptions exist, but ‘I think I have it’ is not an evidence strategy.
In-Service Event or Exposure
An injury, illness, event, or toxic exposure that occurred (or was aggravated) during active service, shown in records, or presumed under the PACT Act.
The Connection (Nexus)
For direct service connection, the record generally must link the condition to service. Sometimes that requires a medical nexus stating it is “at least as likely as not” (50% or greater). In other cases, federal law supplies a presumption or another legal route.
Standard Direct-Pay, Questions Veterans Ask
These are the questions veterans ask me about Standard Direct-Pay representation. This service is built for cleaner, more recent denials, and there is no cost up front. Your part is to read these answers with your decision letter in hand and ask me anything about the agreement before you sign it.
What does 20% actually mean in dollars?
Do I ever write you a check?
What if we lose?
How many times will you appeal on the same issue?
What happens if my case turns out to be more complex than expected?
Is 20% the legal maximum?
Does the fee apply to future monthly payments?
Can I cancel the agreement?
The Right Service Is Confirmed After a Free File Review
You do not have to guess which lane you are in. Start with a free forensic review of your actual file. If it is a clean, recent case, this is the track, and it costs you nothing unless we win.
See What 20% Looks Like on a Real Award
Enter your current and expected ratings, your effective date, and your dependents. The calculator shows the total retroactive award, the 20% fee, and what you keep, in real dollars. The fee is figured only on past-due benefits from the award, never on your future monthly payments, as 38 CFR 14.636 requires. Use your real numbers, not a best guess, so you see exactly what representation costs before you sign anything with us.
Dates & Ratings
The date your benefits should have started
When VA started paying the correct rate (blank = today)
Dependents
This Is an Estimate
Uses 2026 rates (effective December 1, 2025). Actual back pay depends on rate changes, exact effective date, and deductions. Open the full calculator
Real Veterans. Real Claims. Real Outcomes.
Every case on this desk belongs to someone who served. These are the veterans this practice represents, across every era, branch, and condition: the Vietnam vet who was told it was too late, the Gulf War vet the system called a mystery, the young veteran who walked out of a five minute exam with a zero. Different stories, same fight. The record decides the claim, so we build the record.
Veteran Representation
Veteran Representation
Veteran RepresentationWhat Compensation and Back Pay Actually Are
Accredited representation fees are a percentage of past-due benefits only, and under 38 CFR §14.636 no fee may be charged for work done before the VA issues its first decision on a claim. These official VA videos explain how compensation and the combined rating work, so you can see exactly what a fee is calculated from. Watch them, then read every option on this page before you sign anything.
How VA Disability Compensation Works
How Your Combined Rating Is Calculated
