Funeral Benefits for Military Veterans
Veterans show the ultimate courage and sacrifice while serving in the military. It can be very emotional and stressful dealing with the death of a loved one. Veterans can receive the same burial benefits as an active duty soldier. These benefits can make the funeral and burial process less hectic and stressful. Veteran Affairs and the Department of Defense provide support to the veterans' funerals and burials.
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Eligibility
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Veterans must have been honorably or generally discharged from the Armed Forces. A veteran with a discharge less than honorable may still receive benefits upon determination from the Veteran Affairs Regional Office.
National Cemetery
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If space is available in a VA cemetery, VA will provide all burial care, government headstone, flag and an engraved Presidential Certificate for free. The spouse and dependents may be buried with the veteran at no cost. All the family's information will be engraved on the veteran's headstone.
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Private Cemetery
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The veteran will receive the headstone, burial flag and engraved certificate. The family will be responsible for burial cost. In a private cemetery, spouses and dependents will not receive any burial benefits.
Allowance
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To receive an allowance, you cannot receive assistance from any other source, must have paid for the burial, funeral, and the veteran must have a general or honorable discharge. The veteran must meet one other condition out seven for the beneficiary to qualify for an allowance. The VA allows allowances up to $3,000 for a service related death, and up to $300 for burial expenses and $300 for the plot with a non-service related death.
Applying for an Allowance
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You have up to 2 years to request burial reimbursement for a death outside of service. There are no time restraints for deaths related to military service. You must fill out VA form 21-530 and provide copies of the military discharge document, death certificate, and funeral and burial receipts (see Resources).
Honors
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Every eligible veteran may receive honors. The Department of Defense provides the funeral honors. Once the family requests honors, the funeral director or the Veteran Affairs National Cemetery staff will request funeral honors for the veteran directly from the Department of Defense.
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