Veterans' Families Guide

Benefits earned through military service go unclaimed more often than most people would guess, usually because no one in the family knew to ask. There is no automatic notification and no single office that calls you. Someone has to file. Parker & Burns Funeral Home files most of it on your family's behalf, and this page explains what exists, what your family is likely to qualify for, and what we need from you to get it started.

Find the Discharge Papers Now

Nearly every veterans benefit begins with the discharge paperwork, usually a DD-214 for anyone who served after 1950. Without it, honors and benefits can still be arranged, but it slows everything down at exactly the wrong moment. If you know where it is, make a copy and keep it with your important papers. If it cannot be found, we can help your family request one from the National Personnel Records Center, though replacement requests take time. This is the single best reason to look for it now rather than during the week of a funeral.

A veteran discharged under conditions other than dishonorable is entitled to military funeral honors, which include at least two uniformed service members, the folding and presentation of the flag, and the playing of Taps. Local American Legion and VFW posts frequently take part. Your family is also entitled to a United States burial flag and a Presidential Memorial Certificate, and to a government headstone, marker, or medallion at no charge, whether burial is in a national cemetery or a local one. Honors are available for veterans who are cremated as well as those who are buried.

Benefits do not end with the funeral. A surviving spouse may be eligible for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation if the death was connected to service, or for Survivors Pension based on need, and spouses and dependent children are often eligible for burial in a national cemetery alongside the veteran. There may also be a VA burial allowance that partially offsets funeral or plot costs in certain circumstances. We do not guess at eligibility, and no funeral home should. What we do is make sure your family knows these programs exist and gets the questions in front of the right office.