S118 - Military and Veteran Support Act. (SL 2025-72)

Overview: Part IV of S.L. 2025‑72 (Senate Bill 118) does the following:

• Defines compensation as the payment of money, anything of value, or a financial benefit.
• Defines a veterans' benefits matter as the preparation, presentation, or prosecution of a claim affecting an individual who has filed or expressed an intent to file a claim for a benefit, program, service, commodity, pension, function, or status, the entitlement to which is determined under the laws and regulations administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs pertaining to veterans, their dependents, their survivors, and any other individual eligible for such benefits.
• Prohibits a person from receiving compensation for preparation, presentation, or prosecution of, or advising, consulting, or assisting an individual with an initial disability claim related to a veterans' benefits matter, except as permitted by this Part.
• Prohibits a person from receiving compensation for referring an individual to another person to prepare, present, prosecute, or advise, consult, or assist the individual with a veterans' benefits matter.
• Prohibits a person from guaranteeing or advertising that any individual is certain to receive specific veterans' benefits or that any individual is certain to receive a specific level, percentage, or amount of veterans' benefits.
• Prohibits a person seeking to receive compensation for advising, assisting, or consulting any individual with any veterans' benefits matter or engaging in the preparation of an initial claim for a fee from (i) aggressively or directly soliciting business or (ii) gaining direct access to login, username, or password information for any personal medical, financial, or government benefits.
• Prohibits a person seeking to receive compensation for advising, assisting, or consulting any individual with any veterans' benefits matter from utilizing a medical professional for a secondary medical exam with whom they have an employment relationship.
• Prohibits a person from entering into any agreement related to a veterans' benefits matter that does not properly memorialize all terms of the agreement.
• Requires a person seeking to receive compensation for preparation, presentation, or prosecution of, or advising, consulting, or assisting an individual with a veterans' benefits matter to memorialize all terms of the agreement in a written agreement that complies with certain criteria  before rendering any services.
• Makes a violation of this Part an unfair trade practice.
• Provides that nothing in this Part applies to attorneys who are licensed to practice in North Carolina.

This Part became effective October 1, 2025.