Butler Funeral Home will work with you to make sure your loved one receives the burial benefits they earned through serving our country. To request funeral benefits, you will need to provide our funeral director with a copy of your loved one's military discharge papers, or DD 214/Separation Documents. This document is necessary to establish proof of eligibility for burial benefits. If you do not already have a copy of the discharge papers, you may go online and request them athttp://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/
For the purpose of receiving funeral benefits or compensation for expenses associated with final arrangements, a “veteran" is defined as one of the following:
For detailed information on determining veteran status as it pertains to funeral benefits, visithttp://www.cem.va.gov/cem/burial_benefits/eligible.asp
Depending on the chosen final arrangements, specific funeral benefits are administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), or by the state in which the burial or inurnment takes place.
Government Benefits include:
State Benefits include:
The VA or the state will pay some of the expenses incurred in the burial of our country's veterans. Not every veteran's funeral expense is covered, although most of the normal expenses you might incur will be reimbursed.
VA burial allowances are partial reimbursements of an eligible veteran's burial and funeral costs. When the cause of death is not service connected, the reimbursements are generally described as two payments: (1) a burial and funeral expense allowance, and (2) a plot or interment allowance.
To learn if you are eligible for a burial allowance, review the checklist athttp://www.benefits.va.gov/BENEFITS/factsheets/burials/burial.pdf
$2,000.00 – Cash Benefit
Eligibility Requirements:
$700.00 – Cash Benefit (for veterans who die at a VA Hospital) – updated July 14, 2014
Eligibility Requirements:
$300.00 – Cash Benefit (for veterans who die outside of a VA Hospital)
Eligibility Requirements:
Transportation Allowance for Deceased Veterans:
You can apply by filling out VA Form 21-530, Application for Burial Benefits. You can find this form online at http://www.va.gov/vaforms/
You will need to attach a copy of the Veteran's military discharge document (DD 214 or equivalent), death certificate, funeral and burial bills. The bills should show that you have paid them in full.
Butler Funeral Home will be glad to assist you in filing for veterans' benefits. Please contact one of our funeral directors to let us know how we may help (910-223-7400 ).