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Details To Expect When Considering Funeral Benefits For Veterans
Veterans funeral benefits are not just about the one-time costs immediately after the death of a veteran. The VA provides a comprehensive range of allowances and amenities. It covers virtually all the expenses the family of a deceased veteran has to bear, ensuring a decent afterlife for soldiers who put their lives on the line for their country.
Everything the government offers in this regard is divided into two parts. One deals with the costs associated with burials and funerals. The other one comes courtesy of the National Cemetery Administration, which provides gravesites in national cemeteries and cares for the upkeep.
The maximum amount the VA can provide depends on the cause of death. For deaths that are not service-related, there will be two payments that may not exceed $700 each. One is a reimbursement of costs for funerals, burials and other rites. The other one is for interment of plots, available only for those not being buried in a national cemetery.
If the death has come about as a result of disabilities and/or injuries sustained during military service, VA is authorized to reimburse as much as $2,000. This will be provided as a single payment instead of two separate reimbursements. The expenses that come afterwards, including the gravesite upkeep, do not have to be borne by the family.
The National Cemetery Administration has 131 national cemeteries available. Any one may serve as the last resting place for a deceased veteran, who is also given a marker or headstone along with a burial flag. The families are given Presidential Memorial Certificates, and grave opening and closing along with perpetual care is provided to the family at no cost.
Note that veterans funeral benefits are not available for dependents, even though they are entitled to a grave in the same cemetery as the veteran. The government does, however, arrange for inscribing their names and birth/death dates on the veteran's headstone. All this is done irrespective of the order of their deaths, so everything is arranged for even though advance reservations are not allowed.
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