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Steps to take when a veteran dies
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Veterans, in the past few weeks I’ve personally lost a few friends of
mine who were vets. I want to talk about what you need to do if a
veteran close to you passes away.
If the veteran was drawing a pension or compensation from the Department of Veteran Affairs, you need to call 1-800-827-1000 and report the death immediately. This will assist in stopping an overpayment of benefits to the veteran. If a veteran dies of a service-connected disability, up to $2,000 in reimbursement of burial expenses may be available. If the veteran has a spouse and dependent children, and the veteran dies of a service-connected disability, the spouse and dependent children may also be entitled to Dependency and Indemnity Compensation. This amount is currently $1,154 monthly plus $286 for each dependent. I’ll give an example for the above. Let’s say a veteran was in Vietnam in 1969 and exposed to Agent Orange. The veteran then has bypass surgery in 2009 and subsequently files a claim for VA compensation for Ischemic Heart Disease (Agent Orange Presumptive) and is awarded compensation. If the veteran dies of coronary arterial disease or a heart attack and it is documented by his death certificate, his widow can file for the above. Other benefits may be available. If a veteran dies in a VA facility and their death is not service connected, there may be entitlements of up to $300 in a burial/funeral allowance and up to $300 in a plot allowance. Most veterans are eligible for an inscribed marker for their grave, “In memory of’’ markers or a medallion as well as a Presidential Memorial Certificate. Veterans who served after Jan. 31, 1955, or during a time of war, are eligible for a burial flag. Family members should inform their funeral director if they want military funeral honors. The Department of Defense maintains a toll-free number (1-877-645-4667) for use by funeral directors only to request honors. The above guidelines are the very basics. Call me at 541-962-8802 for additional information or to set up an appointment. I am located at the Center for Human Development, 2301 Cove Ave., La Grande.
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