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Free Tuition for a Deceased Veteran’s Spouse and Children — and Remarriage Does Not End It

A child or surviving spouse of a veteran who died as a result of military service is admitted to any eligible Minnesota public postsecondary institution free of tuition until a bachelor’s or equivalent degree, and receives a $750 educational assistance stipend each year. The statute defines an eligible spouse as the surviving spouse "regardless of whether the surviving spouse remarries". A 2026 act signed on 21 April 2026 adds fees to the waiver and opens the section to the families of prisoners of war and those missing in action.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

A child or surviving spouse of a veteran who died as a result of military service is admitted to any eligible Minnesota public postsecondary institution free of tuition until a bachelor’s or equivalent degree, and receives a $750 educational assistance stipend each year. The statute defines an eligible spouse as the surviving spouse "regardless of whether the surviving spouse remarries". A 2026 act signed on 21 April 2026 adds fees to the waiver and opens the section to the families of prisoners of war and those missing in action.

What it's worth: Free tuition at an eligible Minnesota public institution until a bachelor’s degree, plus a $750 stipend each year

  • The tuition waiver is the larger half and has no dollar figure in the statute — it is the whole tuition at the institution, so the value depends on where you enrol.
  • The $750 stipend is the figure the statute names. It is not available to anyone who has already attained a bachelor’s or equivalent degree.
  • The 2026 act adds "and fees" to the waiver and makes the stipend payable on a funds-available basis after the commissioner approves eligibility.

Who is entitled to it

  • The section runs to the eligible child and the eligible spouse.
  • You are studying or applying, which the section requires.
  • You are in this state.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

How to claim it

Deadline: Before the end of the academic term you are claiming for
  1. 1Apply before the term ends. The 2026 act writes an application deadline into the eligibility definitions themselves: an eligible child and an eligible spouse must have applied before the end of the academic term the assistance is requested for.
  2. 2Send three things: the application, proof of military service, and — where applicable — proof of residency and proof that the veteran died as a result of military service as determined by the federal veterans department or the Department of Defense.
  3. 3Do not assume remarriage disqualifies you. Subdivision 1(f) defines an eligible spouse as the surviving spouse of a deceased veteran "regardless of whether the surviving spouse remarries", and the 2026 act carries that clause forward.
  4. 4A stepchild counts. The eligible child definition reaches the natural or adopted child OR stepchild of a deceased veteran.
  5. 5Ask whether the fees are waived too. The 2026 act changes paragraph (b) from "free of tuition" to "free of tuition and fees" — at many institutions the fees are a substantial part of the bill.
  6. 6If your family member was a prisoner of war or was declared missing in action, ask again even if you were refused before. The 2026 act opens both the child and the spouse definitions to that family, and says eligibility once established survives the person’s return or reported death.
  7. 7A Tribally controlled college is now inside the definition of an eligible institution under the 2026 act.
  8. 8Benefits run from the date of application, not from the start of your course — subdivision 3 says so, which is another reason not to delay.
Form
Application to the commissioner of veterans affairs, with proof of military service
File with
Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs, usually through your County Veterans Service Officer
Documents you will need
dd214
Each term
Claimed per academic term.
CorrectionRemarriage is the condition that closes most surviving-spouse benefits, and this is not one of them. The definition says so in terms — "regardless of whether the surviving spouse remarries" — and the 2026 rewrite kept the clause while changing almost everything around it.
CorrectionThe route for a veteran in their own right is being closed. The 2026 act deletes the "eligible veteran" definition and the single $750 payment that went with it, leaving the section for children and spouses. A veteran looking for their own state education money should look at the Minnesota GI Bill instead.
Worth knowingThe residency test changed shape. The 2025 text asked whether the DECEASED veteran was a Minnesota resident within six months of entering service or for the six months before death; the 2026 act strikes that and instead requires the CHILD or SPOUSE to be a resident student. A family refused on the old test is worth re-testing on the new one.
Known gapThe revisor still publishes the 2025 statute text with notices that subdivisions 1, 2, 3 and 5 have been amended and a subdivision 7 added by 2026 c 49, and directs readers to the session law for effective dates. The session law read here carries no effective-date section of its own, so exactly when each change bites was not established and is worth confirming with the department before relying on the widened wording.

Sources

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.