burialstate

Jack Bennett Fund — Up to $380 Toward Setting a Veteran’s Grave Marker

The federal government supplies the headstone or marker free and leaves the installation bill to the family. This fund pays up to $380 toward those installation fees, on need measured by the federal Means Test Threshold. A family member, a cemetery or a funeral director may apply.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

What it's worth: Up to $380 toward grave marker installation fees

The department states the fund provides applicants up to $380 to offset grave marker installation costs.
Approval is based on the family’s need as determined by the Means Test Threshold, the guideline the federal VA uses to qualify applicants for headstones and markers.
Family members, cemetery owners and funeral directors may apply.
The application is for the installation fee, not for the marker itself — the marker is furnished by the federal VA at no charge for the unmarked grave of an eligible veteran.

Who is entitled to it

A family member may apply, and so may the cemetery or the funeral director.
Your home is in W. Va.

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

1Photograph the grave marker so the veteran’s name is legible. The application requires that photograph, and going back for it later means a second trip to the cemetery.
2Gather next-of-kin proof of income — tax documents, pay stubs, a social security statement of benefits. Approval turns on need against the federal Means Test Threshold.
3Fill in all four sections: veteran information including service number, branch, rank, dates of service and character of discharge; the cemetery, its address, phone and the grave number; next-of-kin details; and the applicant’s relationship.
4Record the type of marker — upright, flat granite, flat marble or flat bronze. The form asks for it.
5Post everything in a single envelope to the department’s Charleston office. The form is explicit that it wants one envelope.
6Ask the funeral director or the cemetery to apply if the family would rather not handle it. Both are named as eligible applicants on the form itself.
7Do not confuse this with the marker. The marker is furnished at no charge by the federal VA; this fund exists for the setting fee that follows.

Form: John F. "Jack" Bennett Fund Application
File with: W. Va. Department of Veterans Assistance, Office of the Cabinet Secretary, Charleston
Documents you will need: dd214
No renewal: Once granted it does not need renewing.

CorrectionThe department’s burial page and its own application form do not agree on one citation: the page names Title 150 Legislative Rule Series 28, the application names Title 150 Legislative Rule Series 96. Both name Title 86 Series 4 and W. Va. Code §29-22a-10. The rules host refused connection this session, so neither could be checked — quote the Code section, not the series, when you ring.

Worth knowingThe authorising section sits in the racetrack video lottery article. That is why searching the veterans chapters for a burial fund finds nothing.

Known gapNo deadline after the death or after the marker is set was published, and no rule was read on whether the fund pays a foundation as well as the setting. Ask the Cabinet Secretary’s office before assuming either.

Sources

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