Veterans Burial Benefits Cremation
Going Home Cremations will help you receive the following veterans burial benefits:
Veterans Burial Benefits include:
During this difficult time, our team will help you get all the veteran benefits you have earned. With our experience, we will handle all the details on your behalf.
- In-Ground Space for Husband and wife or Niche in any of our 131 national cemeteries with available space, opening and closing of the grave, perpetual care, a Government headstone or marker, a burial flag, and a Presidential Memorial Certificate, at no cost to the family.” Note that space in a national cemetery may not be reserved in advance.
- Eligible veterans may receive a government headstone or marker for the unmarked grave of any deceased eligible veteran, at no charge to the family. Veterans who are eligible to receive a marker may use this benefit regardless of the date of death, and these markers may be used in any cemetery around the world.
- The VA provides a United States flag at no cost for accompanying an urn for a deceased veteran. This resource offers information on the symbolism of the flag being given as a way to honor the veteran’s service to the USA, as well as information on how to obtain a flag. To receive one, surviving family members must submit VA Form 27-2008, Application for United States Flag for Burial Purposes.
- Veterans must meet eligibility requirements for their families to receive FINANCIAL burial benefits for their final expenses, and amounts vary based on circumstances:
- For a service-related death or if hospitalized by VA at time of death) “VA will pay up to $2,000 toward cremation expenses for deaths on or after September 11, 2001,
- If the ashes of the veteran are buried in a VA national cemetery, some or all of the cost of transporting the deceased may be reimbursed.”
- For non-service-related deaths, “VA may pay up to $700 toward burial and funeral expenses for deaths on or after October 1, 2011,
- The spouse of an eligible veteran is entitled to the burial of ashes a “grave-space” or “niche” and a marker in a national cemetery. According to the Funeral Consumers Alliance, “A spouse who remarries a non-veteran may claim burial rights from the prior marriage. Spouses receiving military pay and who die in a military medical facility are eligible for military transport to the nearest national cemetery or no farther than the last permanent residence. Adult children of veterans are entitled to burial benefits only if disabled and dependent.”
- Military funeral honors are available upon request for eligible veterans’ services. According to the VA’s website, “Upon request, DoD [the Department of Defense] will provide military funeral honors consisting of folding and the presentation of the United States flag and the playing of ‘Taps.’ A funeral honors detail consists of two or more uniformed members of the armed forces, with at least one member from the deceased’s branch of service. Additionally, “VA can help arrange honors for burials at VA national cemeteries. Veteran’s service organizations or volunteer groups may help provide honors.”
- The National Cemetery Scheduling Office is responsible for determining eligibility and scheduling burials in the national cemeteries. It notes, “A determination of eligibility is made in response to a request for burial in a VA national cemetery. To schedule a burial, fax all discharge documentation to 1-866-900-6417 and follow-up with a phone call to 1-800-535-1117.”
- To apply for VA Burial Allowance, surviving family members must submit VA form 21-530. This resource provides detailed information on determining eligibility, how to obtain a copy of your loved one’s military discharge documents if they are not located with the veteran’s other documents, and more.
- If you do not have the proper eligibility documentation, someone from the Scheduling Office will assist you with verification. This resource provides step-by-step instructions for scheduling a burial at any of the 131 national cemeteries with available space.
- Veterans are also eligible to receive a Presidential Memorial Certificate. To receive a certificate, surviving family members must submit VA Form 40-0247 Application for Presidential Memorial Certificate. This resource also provides information on how to apply for a PMC using the agency’s toll-free fax line.
- An individual receiving Social Security is eligible for a lump sum death payment of $255. These funds are provided to the surviving spouse or child under the age
Eligibility is as follows:
- Past military members who were on active duty and left under honorable conditions
- Past military members who finished at least one full period of the initial obligation made in the Selected Reserve or at least one term of enlistment and left under honorable conditions
- Past military members discharged due to a disability sustained or exacerbated in the line of duty
- Military members on active duty or in Selected Reserve.
