Grieving a loved one

Monthly tax-free benefit paid to surviving spouses, children, and dependent parents of servicemembers who died in the line of duty, or veterans who died from a service-connected condition. VA also pays it to a surviving spouse or child when the veteran was rated totally disabled from service for a set time before death (10 years, 5 years since discharge, or 1 year for a former POW).

Burial allowances help cover some burial, funeral, and plot costs when a veteran's death meets VA's conditions, such as death from a service-connected disability, death while getting VA care, or death while receiving VA pension or compensation. VA automatically pays a set amount to an eligible surviving spouse who is listed as the spouse on the veteran's VA profile. When a claim is filed, VA pays the first living person to file from this list, in order: surviving spouse, surviving partner from a legal union, children of any age, parents, then the executor or administrator of the estate. For a death that was not service connected on or after October 1, 2026, VA pays a $1,032 burial allowance and $1,032 for a plot.

Survivors Pension is a monthly payment for a surviving spouse or unmarried child of a wartime veteran, when the survivor's yearly family income and net worth are within limits set by Congress. The veteran's death does not need to be service connected. VA bases the payment on the difference between yearly income for VA purposes and the Maximum Annual Pension Rate (MAPR), and paid medical expenses that insurance does not cover can lower that income. The net worth limit is $163,699 from December 1, 2025, to November 30, 2026.

Cost-sharing health care program for the spouse and dependent children of a veteran rated permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected condition, and for the surviving spouse and children of a veteran who died from a service-connected condition or was rated permanently and totally disabled at death, or of a service member who died in the line of duty. Spouses, surviving spouses, and dependent children enrolled in CHAMPVA can buy discounted private dental insurance through the VA Dental Insurance Program (VADIP).