VA Survivor Benefits: What Spouses and Children Can Claim After a Veteran Dies

When a veteran dies, VA does not automatically know, and most survivor benefits start only when someone applies. This checklist covers the first month. None of it has to be done in 1 day, but 2 items carry deadlines.

1. Get 10 to 15 certified copies of the death certificate. VA, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), life insurers and banks each want one.
2. Find the veteran's DD214, marriage certificate and children's birth certificates. These 3 documents support almost every application below.
3. Report the death to VA. VA will stop the veteran's compensation or pension. If the veteran was receiving either, a surviving spouse can be paid the veteran's last month of benefits. VA calls this the month-of-death payment, "a one-time payment that is paid when a Veteran who is receiving VA compensation or pension benefits passes away."
4. Report the death to DFAS if the veteran was a military retiree, so the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuity can start.
5. Apply for the burial allowance on VA Form 21P-530EZ if you paid funeral costs. A surviving spouse listed on the veteran's VA record may be paid without filing.
6. File VA Form 21P-534EZ for DIC, Survivors Pension and accrued benefits. 1 form covers all 3. Filing within 1 year of the death protects the effective date, but there is no reason to wait.
7. File the life insurance claim on form SGLV 8283 if the veteran had Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI) or Veterans' Group Life Insurance (VGLI).
8. Apply for CHAMPVA on VA Form 10-10d if you have no other health coverage, and for education benefits on VA Form 22-5490 if you or a child are in school.

Watch out: The veteran's own compensation or pension ends with the month of death. If deposits keep arriving for later months, tell VA rather than spending them, and ask about the month-of-death payment, which is the 1 payment meant for the spouse.

Bereavement counseling is also available. VA lists "bereavement counseling through VA Vet Centers" among its survivor benefits.

Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) is the main VA death benefit for a spouse. 38 CFR 3.5 defines it as "a monthly payment made by the Department of Veterans Affairs to a surviving spouse, child, or parent" because of a service-connected death. The statute is 38 U.S.C. 1310. VA describes DIC as "a tax-free monetary benefit," so it is not taxable income.

You may be eligible for DIC as a survivor if at least 1 of these is true about the veteran or service member:

• They died on active duty, active duty for training or inactive duty training, or
• They "died from a service-connected illness or injury," or
• They had a service-connected disability rated totally disabling for at least 10 years before death, or since release from active duty and at least 5 years immediately before death, or at least 1 year before death if they were a former prisoner of war who died after September 30, 1999.

The third rule answers the common search for surviving spouse benefits after a 100% rating. A veteran rated totally disabled (including through Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability) for the 10 years before death qualifies the spouse for DIC even when the cause of death was unrelated to service.

A spouse must also have lived with the veteran "without a break" until death (or not been at fault for a separation), and either married within 15 years of the discharge from the period of service in which the condition started, been married at least 1 year, or had a child with the veteran. A child must be unmarried and under 18, or under 23 if in school.

Source: https://www.va.gov/family-and-caregiver-benefits/survivor-compensation/dependency-indemnity-compensation/survivor-rates/, effective December 1, 2025.

A spouse with 1 child under 18 receives $1,699.36 + $421.00 + $359.00 = $2,479.36 a month for the first 2 years, then $2,120.36 until the child turns 18. The full child-only table, the pre-1993 pay-grade table, parent DIC and the 8-year provision rules are in the DIC guide.

Survivors Pension is the needs-based alternative when the death was not service-connected. It is for "surviving spouses who haven't remarried" and unmarried dependent children of a veteran with wartime service. It does not depend on how the veteran died or on any disability rating. It does depend on your income and net worth.

You may be eligible if all of these are true:

• The veteran entered service before September 8, 1980 and served "at least 90 days on active military service, with at least 1 day during a covered wartime period," or entered after September 7, 1980 and served at least 24 months or the full period called to active duty, with wartime service, and
• The veteran was not discharged dishonorably, and
• Your yearly family income and net worth are under the limits Congress sets.

VA pays the difference between your countable income and the maximum annual pension rate (MAPR) for your household, in 12 monthly payments.

Source: https://www.va.gov/pension/survivors-pension-rates/, effective December 1, 2025.

The net worth limit is $163,699 for December 1, 2025 through November 30, 2026. Unreimbursed medical expenses reduce countable income, but only the part above 5% of your MAPR counts. The Survivors Pension guide walks through the income math and the aid and attendance add-on.

DIC or Survivors Pension? You apply for both on 1 form. DIC pays regardless of income when the death is service-connected or the 10-year rule is met. Survivors Pension pays when it is not, but your income is low and the veteran served in wartime. VA pays 1 or the other, and DIC is almost always larger.

CHAMPVA, the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs, covers "the surviving spouse or dependent child of a Veteran who died from a service-connected disability" or who was "rated permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability" at death. It also covers survivors of a service member who died in the line of duty. VA says plainly: "If you're eligible for or enrolled in TRICARE, you can't get CHAMPVA benefits." Survivors of military retirees and active-duty deaths usually have TRICARE instead.

CHAMPVA is a cost-sharing program, not free care. The current figures on VA's CHAMPVA care page:

Source: https://www.va.gov/resources/champva-care/, current as of September 2026.

CHAMPVA "is the secondary payer to Medicare," and secondary to any other health insurance you hold. Apply on VA Form 10-10d online, by mail or by fax. The spouse health care coverage guide compares CHAMPVA, TRICARE and marketplace plans, and the family member programs page lists the other VA family services.

Survivors have 2 VA education programs, and VA says "you can use only 1 program at a time."

Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance (Chapter 35, or DEA) is for the child or spouse of a veteran who died from a service-connected disability or was permanently and totally disabled from one. It pays a flat monthly amount straight to you, and you cover tuition. You get up to 36 months if your training started on or after August 1, 2018 (45 months before that). There is no time limit to use it if the qualifying death or rating happened on or after August 1, 2023; earlier events carry age and year limits set out on VA's page.

Source: https://www.va.gov/family-and-caregiver-benefits/education-and-careers/dependents-education-assistance/rates/, effective October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026. From October 1, 2026 the full-time rate rises to $1,621.00 (https://www.va.gov/family-and-caregiver-benefits/education-and-careers/dependents-education-assistance/rates/future-rates/).

The Fry Scholarship is for the child or surviving spouse of a service member who "died in the line of duty" on active duty on or after September 11, 2001, or a Selected Reserve member who died in the line of duty or from a service-connected disability. It works like the Post-9/11 GI Bill: up to 36 months of tuition and fees paid to the school, plus a housing allowance and a books and supplies stipend. There is no time limit if the death was on or after January 1, 2013.

Both use VA Form 22-5490. The Chapter 35 guide and the Fry Scholarship guide go deeper, and the GI Bill guide explains transferred Post-9/11 benefits.

Home loan. A surviving spouse may be eligible for a VA home loan if the veteran died in service or from a service-connected disability and you did not remarry, or you remarried at 57 or older on or after December 16, 2003. The spouse of a veteran who is missing in action or a prisoner of war is also eligible. If you receive DIC, request your Certificate of Eligibility (COE) on VA Form 26-1817. If you do not, VA asks you to apply on VA Form 21P-534EZ first. VA's surviving-spouse page does not state a funding fee rule, so check the current fee table on VA.gov before you close. The VA home loan guide covers the loan itself.

Life insurance. SGLI and VGLI are administered for VA by the Office of Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (OSGLI). The beneficiary files form SGLV 8283, Claim for Death Benefits, with a copy of the death certificate, by fax or mail to OSGLI in Philadelphia. For an active-duty death, the casualty assistance officer helps with the form.

Accrued benefits. If VA owed the veteran money at death, such as back pay from a pending claim, a survivor can claim it as accrued benefits on the same VA Form 21P-534EZ. If the veteran had a claim, decision review or appeal still pending, VA Form 21P-0847, Request for Substitution of Claimant Upon Death of Claimant, lets an eligible survivor step in and continue it rather than start over.

The National Cemetery Administration (NCA) runs VA's national cemeteries. Burial there includes at no cost "a gravesite in any of our national cemeteries with available space," opening and closing of the grave, a government burial liner, a government headstone or marker and perpetual care. Eligible veterans also receive a burial flag, a Presidential Memorial Certificate and military funeral honors. Spouses and minor children of eligible veterans can be buried in a national cemetery too.

For a private cemetery burial, VA can still provide a headstone, marker or medallion, and can pay a burial allowance toward what you spent.

Source: https://www.va.gov/burials-memorials/veterans-burial-allowance/, effective October 1, 2025.

Watch out: For a death that was not service-connected, VA says you must file for the burial allowance "within 2 years after the Veteran's burial." There is no deadline for a service-connected death, or for the plot or transportation part of a non-service-connected claim.

A Presidential Memorial Certificate is "an engraved paper certificate signed by the current president." It is presented automatically at national cemetery burials; for other burials, next of kin or a close friend requests it on VA Form 40-0247. The burial and memorial benefits guide covers pre-need eligibility, state veterans cemeteries and headstone applications.

Remarriage. DIC continues if you remarried on or after January 5, 2021 and were 55 or older, or on or after December 16, 2003 and were 57 or older. Remarriage before that age ends DIC. Under 38 CFR 3.55(a)(3), a later marriage "terminated by death, divorce, or annulment" does not bar DIC, so eligibility can be restored, unless VA finds the divorce was obtained by fraud or collusion. For CHAMPVA, education and home loan benefits, 38 CFR 3.55(a)(10) keeps eligibility after remarriage at 57 or older. Survivors Pension is for a spouse who has not remarried.

The SBP-DIC offset is gone. For decades the SBP annuity DFAS paid to a military retiree's widow was reduced by DIC, the "widow's tax." Per DFAS, "On January 1, 2023, the offset was completely eliminated." Surviving spouses now receive full SBP from DFAS and full DIC from VA.

Income. Spouse and child DIC has no income test, so Social Security survivor benefits, wages and a job do not reduce it. Survivors Pension is income-tested, and any new income or a change in net worth must be reported.

The veteran's own compensation stops. VA disability compensation does not continue after death; DIC or Survivors Pension replaces it. Keep any rating letter showing 100% permanent and total, because CHAMPVA, Chapter 35 and many state benefits key off it. The current compensation table is on the 2026 disability rates page.

VA Form 21P-534EZ is the Application for DIC, Survivors Pension, and/or Accrued Benefits. VA considers you for all 3 from 1 form.

1. Choose the form. Spouse or child of a veteran: VA Form 21P-534EZ. Spouse or child of a service member who died on active duty: VA Form 21P-534a, usually completed with the casualty assistance officer. Parent of the veteran: VA Form 21P-535.
2. Gather evidence. Death certificate, marriage certificate, birth certificates for children, the DD214, and for a service-connected death claim, medical records or a doctor's statement that links the cause of death to a service-connected condition.
3. Complete the form. Answer the income and net worth questions even if you are applying for DIC; they let VA decide Survivors Pension at the same time. Mark the accrued benefits section if the veteran had a claim pending.
4. File it. Online through VA.gov; by mail to Department of Veterans Affairs, Pension Intake Center, PO Box 5365, Janesville, WI 53547-5365; in person at a VA regional office; or through a VA-accredited Veterans Service Organization (VSO) representative, whose help is free.
5. Answer VA's letters. VA may ask for a medical opinion on the cause of death or more marriage evidence. Reply by the date in the letter.
6. Check status and read the decision letter. VA does not publish an average DIC processing time on its DIC pages, so use the claim status tool on VA.gov. If denied, you have 1 year from the decision date to request a decision review.

Watch out: Under 38 CFR 3.400(c)(2), DIC is effective the first day of the month of death only "if claim is received within 1 year after the date of death." A claim received in month 13 is paid from the date VA receives it. Filing anything, even incomplete, inside the year protects the date.

Most states give a property-tax exemption to the surviving spouse of a veteran who died from service-connected causes or was rated 100% at death, often a full exemption on the primary home. Many also offer tuition waivers for children and spouses at public colleges, special license plates, and burial in a state veterans cemetery. Almost all ask for your DIC award letter or the VA letter showing the service-connected death, so keep those together. Select your state for the current list.