veterans
You Served. Now Let's Make the VA Keep Its Promise.
Patrick Nolan is a veteran and a VA-accredited attorney. From disability claims to appeals to pension benefits, we help Missouri veterans and their families get what the law says they've earned.
If you wore the uniform, the law promises you something in return: disability compensation for injuries connected to your service, pension support when age and care needs catch up with you, and benefits for the family you leave behind.
Getting the VA to actually deliver on that promise is another story. Claims get denied on thin reasoning. Ratings come back too low. Effective dates get set months after they should be. And the rules — 38 U.S.C., 38 C.F.R., the Appeals Modernization Act — are a maze built by lawyers.
So bring a lawyer. Patrick Nolan is a veteran and a VA-accredited attorney based in Kirksville, Missouri, authorized by the Department of Veterans Affairs to represent claimants. He's also the estate-planning and elder-law attorney many northeast Missouri families already trust — which matters, because VA benefits never exist in a vacuum. They interact with Medicaid, with your estate plan, and with your family's future.
How We Help Veterans and Their Families
VA Disability Claims
Service connection, disability ratings, effective dates, and presumptive conditions — building the claim right the first time.
Learn moreVA Appeals
Denied or underrated? We handle Higher-Level Reviews, Supplemental Claims, and Board appeals under the AMA.
Learn moreAid & Attendance Pension
Needs-based pension for wartime veterans and surviving spouses who need help with daily living — without wrecking your finances to qualify.
Learn moreVeteran Estate Planning
Wills, trusts, and powers of attorney built to work with VA benefits, Medicaid rules, and survivor programs — not against them.
Learn moreMilitary Family Planning
DIC, CHAMPVA, and education benefits for spouses and children, coordinated with Missouri estate-planning law.
Learn moreHolding a VA decision you don't agree with?
The clock is probably running. Most VA decisions give you one year to act while protecting your effective date. A free consultation costs you nothing — waiting might cost you back pay.
Book a Free ConsultationHow It Works
- Free consultation. Bring your DD-214, your VA decision letters, and your story. We'll tell you honestly whether we can help — and if a free VSO is the better fit for your situation, we'll say so.
- Case review and strategy. We pull your claims file, find what the VA missed or got wrong, and pick the right lane — new claim, Higher-Level Review, Supplemental Claim, or Board appeal.
- We carry it. Evidence development, medical opinions, legal argument, deadlines. You get updates in plain English, not government-speak.
The Numbers That Matter
A Local Advocate Who Speaks Both Languages
Plenty of national outfits advertise VA claims help. Here's what they can't offer: an attorney down the street in Kirksville who served, who answers his own phone, and who also handles the estate planning and elder law issues that VA benefits collide with. When your Aid & Attendance eligibility, your Medicaid planning, and your trust all have to line up, one local attorney seeing the whole board beats three call centers seeing pieces of it.
Patrick also wrote the book on protecting your family — literally: The Dead Man's Guide to Estate Planning. And he explains this stuff for free every week on the Pat Talks Law YouTube channel.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean that Patrick is "VA-accredited"?
The VA only allows accredited attorneys, claims agents, and recognized service-organization representatives to assist claimants with VA benefits claims. Patrick Nolan holds VA accreditation, which means he is authorized by the Department of Veterans Affairs to prepare, present, and prosecute claims on behalf of veterans and their families.
How much does it cost to talk to you about my VA claim?
Nothing. Consultations are free. And under federal law, accredited representatives generally may not charge a fee for helping you prepare and file an initial claim at all. Fees are typically allowed only for work done after the VA has issued an initial decision and you pursue further review — and even then, they are usually a percentage of past-due benefits, not money out of your pocket up front.
I'm not near Kirksville. Can you still help?
Yes. VA claims and appeals are federal matters, and most of the work happens by phone, mail, and the VA's own systems. We serve veterans across Kirksville, northeast Missouri, and beyond.
I already have a service officer (VSO). Why hire an attorney?
VSOs do good work, especially on initial claims — and they're free. But when a claim has been denied, underrated, or given the wrong effective date, the issues become legal ones — evidence, regulations, and case law. That's where an accredited attorney can dig into the record, build a legal argument, and take the fight to the Board or beyond.
Is there a deadline on my VA decision?
Usually yes. You generally have one year from the date on a VA decision to seek review while protecting your effective date. Miss it, and you may lose months or years of back pay. If you're holding a denial letter, don't sit on it.