Dependent Benefits

Dependents of eligible Veterans are entitled to receive healthcare through the VA healthcare system through the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA).

Individuals must fall under the following four categories to be eligible for CHAMPVA:

• The spouse or a child of a living Veteran who has been rated by a VA Regional Office as permanently or totally disabled as the result of a service-connected disability. 
• The surviving spouse or child of a Veteran who died from a VA-rated service- connected disability.
• The surviving spouse of a Veteran who was at the time of death rated permanently or totally disabled from a service-connected disability.
• The surviving spouse or child of a military member who died in the line of duty (please note that in most of these cases, the family members are eligible for coverage through the Department of Defense’s healthcare program, TRICARE, rather than CHAMPVA). 

Learn more about CHAMPVA on the VA’s website. 

If the death is service-related, the VA will pay up to $2000 towards burial expenses. If it is not service-related, the VA will pay up to $300, as well as $300 for plot-internment allowance.

For Burials at a National Cemetery

Your survivors will need to provide a copy of your discharge documents to prove your service and discharge status. 

Since there are no viewing facilities available, no funeral services can be held at national cemeteries. However, a final committal service may be held at a committal shelter a distance from the grave. 

The VA will provide a headstone (upright marble or upright granite) or marker (flat bronze, flat marble or flat granite) of eligible Veterans. The National Cemetery Administration will handle the markers of those buried at national cemeteries. For those not buried at national cemeteries, your next or kin or representative must apply for a VA headstone using VA Form 40-1330, Application for Standard Government Headstone or Marker for Installation in a Private or State Veterans’ Cemetery and include a copy of the Veteran’s military discharge papers. 

The Dependents’ Educational Assistance program offers 45 months of educational benefits to dependents of eligible Veterans, including finishing a degree, certificate program, apprenticeship program or take on-the-job training at programs approved by the State Approving Agency (SAA) or the VA. 

Generally, to be eligible, dependents must be a child between the ages of 18-26 or a spouse of a Veteran who has died, missing in action, a former prisoner or war, or is permanently or totally disabled as a result of a service-connected disability.

Learn more about specific eligibility requirements and educational benefits on the VA’s website. 

Additionally, you may be able to transfer unused GI Bill benefits to your dependents. Learn more about how to do so here.

The VA provides Dependency and Indemnity Compensation for an eligible survivor of a Veteran who died to a service-related injury or illness.

If you believe that you are eligible to receive VA DIC but were previously denied under the PACT Act, you may submit a new application. 

Learn more about eligibility for DIC on the VA’s website. 

The Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act (USFSPA) allows state courts to divide military pensions according to the divorce law in that state. In some states, courts have awarded former spouses an amount based on the rank and pay of the servicemember at the time of the divorce, while others have based it on the rank and pay of the servicemember at the time of retirement, even if the divorce was finalized years earlier. 

The USFSPA does not include disability pay (unlike military retirement pay) in the calculation of “disposable pay”. 

It is crucial that any divorce settlement clearly specifies the division of military retirement benefits, and Veterans receiving disability pay should check what is included as “disposable pay” at the time of separation.