VA Burial Benefits Claim: To assist families, caregivers, and veterans with end-of-life expenses related to burial, funeral, and transportation, the VA provides a range of burial benefits.
Knowing the deadlines for submitting these claims will help you guarantee the support you are due.
To better assist Veterans’ families, the VA recently added burial benefits.
VA Burial Benefits Claim Advantages
- Reimbursement of transportation costs: Apart from national cemeteries, covering the cost of moving the remains to state or Tribal Veterans’ cemeteries
- More single payments: Ensuring more generous support will help with non-service-connected burial benefits.
- Now includes Tribal organizations in extended plot or interment allowance.
- Last fiscal year, VA Under Secretary for Benefits Joshua Jacobs reported that over 84,000 burial benefits were given to Veteran’s families.
These improvements seek to honour veterans and help those close to them through trying circumstances.
Pennsylvania To Recieve Extra June Stimulus Payment, Check Your Payment Date Here
You have to be responsible for the burial and funeral expenses without reimbursement from another entity to be eligible for VA burial benefits.
VA National Cemeteries ensures Veterans and their families are honored with a final resting place that pays tribute to their service. If you are interested in finding out if you or your loved one are eligible for burial in a VA cemetery visit: https://t.co/SX0trpa2LZ pic.twitter.com/e6I1lmXkKb
— Veterans Affairs (@DeptVetAffairs) October 5, 2023
VA Burial Benefits Claim: Eligibility
- Surviving spouse or legal partner
- Surviving child or parent
- Executor or administrator of the Veteran’s estate
- Funeral home or third party that handled burial arrangements for unclaimed remains
The veteran must not have gotten a dishonourable discharge; some criteria must be satisfied, including the veteran dying from a service-connected disability or while undergoing VA treatment.
The type of burial benefit determines the filing deadlines for claims
- Service-connected burial benefits: no deadline. Filed at any time are claims for a service-connected burial, plot, interment allowance, or transportation benefit.
- Burial Benefits Not Related to Service: Must be claimed two years following the veteran’s cremation or burial. This covers costs related to burial, plot, interment, or transportation.
- Unclaimed Remains: The claim for unclaimed remains must also be made two years following the Veteran’s death.
- Updated Discharge Status: If a Veteran’s discharge status is changed from dishonourable to another status posthumously, the claim must be made two years following the update.
Chapter 35 VA Benefits Pay Scale 2024: Find out how much you’ll get depending on your enrollment
Note that there is no time limit for claiming non-service-connected burial benefits should the veteran die while receiving VA treatment.
Applications for burial benefits are available online or by mail.
Since the VA handles payments automatically, surviving spouses named on the veteran’s profile do not have to submit a claim.
See the official VA website or contact your local VA office for further information or an application for VA burial benefits.
