Question:
My best friend’s father is a Korean War veteran with a 10% disability, who is 93 years old. He’s heard terrible things about the costs of funeral home service. Someone told him that his military service entitles him and his wife to 100% free funeral home services, a free cemetery plot and marker, and all related transportation. Can you explain exactly what is available and what his family needs to do (in advance or at the time) to receive those services?
Jim's Reply:
Great questions. I wish more veterans would plan in advance. Over the years I've worked with too many widows who had no clue of their veteran husband's benefits or much else. It's so much simpler and kinder to survivors to make all the arrangements up front.
The local or chosen funeral home itself is a great place to start. They will all appreciate advance plans and some offer discounts for committing to them early on. Any reputable funeral home will assist a lot of veterans and the National Cemetery Administration works pretty well for us. Over the years I've needed to speak with a number of funeral homes about arrangements for vets and I've found them all to be helpful. They usually know the phone numbers to call at VA and can be very helpful making advance plans.
What does VA pay for? Well, like everything else VA, it depends. The benefit can be quite generous and pay for everything or it can seem lacking, all depending on the options you choose. There's a multiple choice menu of things you may qualify for or even want.
There are differences in payment if the vet dies of a rated service connected condition or whether the vet chooses a National Cemetery or a private cemetery and so on. There are also a few "may reimburse" qualifiers in the rules so we have to be ready for most anything.
For my own family, my wife and I have made choices about how we'd like to be interred (ashes in the Atlantic Ocean) and we have legit wills and powers of attorney and living wills and DNR authorizations and all those dozens of legal documents that lawyers recommend we have. We've talked openly with her kids about "what if" and they know our wishes and we know theirs.
The veteran can sort of figure out what he or she may be eligible for by looking here.
n the final analysis, nobody likes to plan their demise. But there is no substitute for planning and making your choices known when you care about the survivors and any estate that may be left. With meticulous advance planning, the survivors win...they can grieve without the bother of making decisions in an emotional time. Burial at a National Cemetery is always a good choice (low or no cost and outstanding services) and an advance planning visit to a chosen funeral home can set that up for you so there's no hassle at all. And full military honors...Taps and such...can be easier come by at the National Cemetery.
I can relate. When my retired USMC father passed some years ago, he had planned well. He chose a civilian cemetery and years in advance set everything up with...the local Strickland Funeral Home...no relation. The morning he passed at a local hospice the funeral home was called and they picked him up within a coupe hours. He was prepared and then transported some 300 + miles to his site next to my mom and brother. All I did was show up, he had made all his choices.
The funeral home did the paperwork for me and eventually I received some funeral expense compensation. It's worth noting that VA doesn't pay for external (non- National Cemetery) costs but may reimburse costs later.
There you have it. Advance planning. The end.