Veterans Benefits
Who Receives Benefits?
- Any veteran honorably discharged from active duty or separated under a condition other than dishonorable and having completed the required period of service.
- Active military personnel that die on active duty as well as their spouses and dependent children.
How Do I Apply?
- Your funeral director should be able to assist you with filing for most of the Veterans Benefits. Talk to your funeral director for more details.
- You can call the Dept. of Veterans Affairs at, 1-800-827-1000
Get In Touch With Us
What Info Is Needed?
- SS#’s for the surviving spouse and dependent children
- Discharge papers (Form DD-214)
- Certified copy of the Death Certificate
- Life insurance benefit information
- Doctor and hospital bills/receipts
- Funeral home and cemetery invoices/receipts
- Divorce decree or death certificate for former spouses
- Birth certificate for children under 18 or over 18 if they are a full-time student (form 21-674 for full time students over 18)
- Amount of SS benefits
- VA Claim number (if you have one)
- Additional income information
Funeral/Burial Expenses
- The VA will pay up to $2000.00 for service connected deaths.
- The VA may pay benefits if the death occurs in a VA Hospital, Nursing home or facility in which the deceased veteran was under VA care.
- The VA may reimburse for transportation costs.
- There is no time limit for filing for benefits.
- Under some circumstances, the VA may pay a $300.00 plot allowance benefit if the deceased veteran is buried in a private cemetery not under US government jurisdiction.
- For more details regarding Funeral/Burial Benefits, contact your VA representative.
Burial Flag
A family is entitled to receive an American flag if the deceased was an eligible veteran. (Honorably discharged, etc.) A flag may also be issued to any veteran who is MIA and presumed dead. The flag is used to drape the casket of the deceased veteran or in the event that a casket is not present, the flag may be properly folded and displayed during the service. Usually at the cemetery, in many instances as part of the military honors, the flag will be presented to the spouse or eldest child (used to be the eldest son) or next of kin. Your funeral director will help you fill out the proper forms to receive a flag.
Burial at Ft. Snelling or other National Cemeteries
Honorably discharged veterans or other eligible veteran and their spouses and/or any dependent children who were a dependent before their 18th birthday, are eligible to be buried at a national cemetery.
Ft. Snelling National Cemetery there is no charge for the grave or niche, opening and closing of the grave or niche, headstone or niche face, or military honors
Burial in National Cemeteries VA Cemeteries
Burial benefits in a VA national cemetery include the gravesite, opening and closing of the grave, and perpetual care. Many national cemeteries have columbaria for the inurnment of cremated remains or special gravesites for the burial of cremated remains. Headstones and markers and their placement are provided at the government’s expense.
Veterans and armed forces members who die on active duty are eligible for burial in one of VA’s 114 national cemeteries. An eligible veteran must have been discharged or separated from active duty under honorable or general conditions and have completed the required period of service. Persons entitled to retired pay as a result of 20 years creditable service with a reserve component are eligible. A U.S. citizen who served in the armed forces of a government allied with the United States in a war also may be eligible.
Spouses and minor children of eligible veterans and of armed forces members also may be buried in a national cemetery. A surviving spouse of an eligible veteran who married a non-veteran, and whose remarriage was terminated by death or divorce, is eligible for burial in a national cemetery.
Gravesites in national cemeteries cannot be reserved. Funeral directors or others making burial arrangements must apply at the time of death. Reservations made under previous programs are honored. The National Cemetery System normally does not conduct burials on weekends. A weekend caller, however, will be directed to on of three strategically located VA cemetery offices that remain open during weekends to schedule burials at the cemetery of the caller’s choice during the following week.
Headstones and Markers
VA provides headstones and markers for the unmarked graves of veterans anywhere in the world and for eligible dependents of veterans buried in national, state veteran or military cemeteries.
Flat bronze, flat granite, flat marble, upright granite and upright marble types are available to mark the grave in a style consistent with the place of burial. Niche markers also are available to mark columbaria used for inurnment of cremated remains.
Headstones and markers are inscribed with the name of the deceased, the years of birth and death, and branch of service. Optional items that also may be inscribed at VA expense are: military grade, rank or rate; war service such as World War II; months and days of birth and death; an emblem reflecting one’s beliefs; valor awards; and the Purple Heart. Additional items may be inscribed at private expense.
When burial is in a national, state veteran or military cemetery, the headstone or marker is ordered through the cemetery, which will place it on the grave. Information regarding style, inscription, shipping and placement can be obtained from the cemetery.
When burial occurs in a cemetery other than a national cemetery or a state veterans cemetery, the headstone or marker must be applied for from VA. It is shipped at government expense to the consignee designated on the application. VA, however, does not pay the cost of placing the headstone or marker on the grave.
To apply, you must complete VA form 40-1330. Be sure to include telephone numbers and signatures. Use the information on the DD-214 and other supporting documents to help you fill out the application as completely as possible. Forms and assistance are available at VA regional offices.
To apply, mail your application to the Quantico, Virginia, mailing address. You may use either the US Postal Service, or one of the mail delivery services commercially available. Our address is:
Memorial Programs Service (41A1)
Department of Veterans Affairs
5109 Russell Road
Quantico, VA 22134-3903
For information regarding the status of an application, you may call the Director, Office of Memorial Programs (403B3) at 1-800-697-6947.
VA cannot issue a headstone or marker for a spouse or child buried in a private cemetery. Twenty year reservists without active duty service are eligible for a headstone or marker, if they are entitled to military retired pay at the time of death.
Headstones or Markers for Memorial Plots
To memorialize an eligible veteran whose remains are not available for burial, VA will provide a plot and headstone or marker in a national cemetery. The headstone or marker is the same as that used to identify a grave except that the mandatory phrase “In Memory of” precedes the authorized inscription. The headstone or marker is available to memorialize eligible veterans or deceased active-duty members whose remains were not recovered or identified, were buried at sea, donated to science, or cremated and scattered.
The memorial marker may be provided for placement in a cemetery other than a national cemetery. In such a case, VA supplies the marker and pays the cost of shipping, but does not pay for the plot or the placement of the marker. Only a relative recognized as the next of kin may apply for the benefit.
Presidential Memorial Certificates
The Presidential Memorial Certificate is a parchment certificate with a calligraphic inscription expressing the nation’s recognition of the veteran’s service. The veteran’s name is inscribed and the certificate bears the signature of the President. Certificates are issued in the name of honorably discharged, deceased veterans. Eligible recipients include next of kin, other relatives and friends.
The award of a certificate to one eligible recipient does not preclude certificates to other eligible recipients. The veteran may have died at any time in the past. The local VA regional office generally originates the application for a Presidential Memorial Certificate. The next of kin also may request a certificate. Requests should be accompanied by a copy of a document such as a discharge to establish honorable service. VA regional offices can assist in applying for certificates.