Burial benefits | veterans affairs

WHAT HAPPENS IN THE DETAILS OFFICE? * Assist with deceased Veterans * Order autopsy if requested * Make funeral arrangements for indigent Veterans * First call placed with funeral home for 

disposition of deceased * Release deceased Veterans to a funeral home * Every Veteran receives a burial flag that passes away at the KCVA * Process death certificates * Provide assistance

with military honors, headstone, grave marker, medallions * Death benefits are explained (print out forms, assist with filling out forms, and retrieval of DD214) BURIAL IN A VA NATIONAL

CEMETERY Burial in a VA national cemetery is open to all members of the armed forces and Veterans who have met minimum active duty service requirements, as applicable, and were discharged

under conditions other than dishonorable. Burial benefits include opening and closing of the grave, government headstone or marker, and perpetual care of the gravesite. Spouses, minor

children and, under certain conditions, dependent unmarried adult children are also eligible for burial even if they predecease the Veteran. VETERANS BURIAL ALLOWANCE VA burial allowances

are flat rate monetary benefits. They help cover Veterans’ burial and funeral costs. Eligible surviving spouses are paid automatically. This happens upon notification of the Veteran’s death.

There is no need to submit a claim. If the surviving spouse has not been paid automatically, VA will pay whomever files the claim first; the Veteran’s surviving: children, parents, executor

or administrator of the estate, and or survivor of legal union. HOW MUCH DOES IT PAY Service Connected Death Died on or after 9/11/01 max $2000 Died before 9/11/01 max $1500 If buried in a

VA Cemetery, some or all of the transporting costs remain. Non Service Connected Death Veteran dies outside of VA Medical facility: $300 burial allowance, $762 plot Veteran dies within a VA

Medical facility: $762 burial allowance, $762 plot *payments subject to change* BURIAL FLAGS/MILITARY HONORS A United States flag is provided, at no cost, to drape the casket or accompany

the urn of a deceased Veteran who served honorably in the U.S. Armed Forces. The flag is given to the next-of-kin, as a keepsake, after its use during the funeral service. U.S. Post Offices

are the primary issuing point for burial flags. Generally, the funeral home will help obtain a flag. The Department of Defense is responsible for providing military funeral honors. Military

honors can be requested on behalf of the Veterans family through the funeral home or the next of kin. HEADSTONES, MARKERS, AND MEDALLIONS VA provides headstones and markers for the graves of

eligible Veterans in private and government cemeteries.  The VA also provides a bronze medallion that can be  affixed to an existing privately purchased headstone or marker.  The medallion

is furnished in lieu of a traditional governmental headstone or marker. PRESIDENTIAL MEMORIAL CERTIFICATE A Presidential Memorial Certificate is a gold embossed paper certificate bearing the

official signature of the President of the United States. It honors the memory of a deceased Veteran and expresses the country's grateful recognition of his or her service in the Armed

Forces. Eligible recipients include the deceased Veterans next of kind, relatives and friends, or an authorized service representative acting on their behalf.