Friends mother in law...

she was married to a Veteran (retired from Active Duty)--he died a while back.  

I was wondering, should she be getting any $$$ from the military?  (other than a SGLI or other insurance)

just curious if all the $$ would end when the retired veteran died...

she seems to be still covered by tricare

just curious.

thanks!

Vet benefits for survivors are very situationally dependent. The standard is the death benefit- some money towards burial, headstone/niche marker, flag, presidential certificate, honor guard, etc..

The rest depend on different factors. Was he service connected? Was one of those service connections related to cause of death? The list is long and murky. She needs to get ahold of a service officer, sit down, and go through the process.

Some potential benefits could include a pension (DIC), ed benefits, healthcare, etc..

Worth her time to look into but don't make any promises. Survivor benefits can be an animal to work through.

If SM is medically retired the spouse can receive benefits for the rest of their life.

I knew a Warrant Officer that was medically retired in less than 24 hrs after collapsing at Gym in the morning.  He passed a short time later.

My father had been retired from active duty for about 25 years when he passed away from a stroke.

Close to a year after he passed away, my mother received a letter from the VA.

Evidently the VA had reviewed his cause of death and his military records and determined that the cause of death was related to his military service. The letter stated that my mother would now receive a monthly benefit for life and back pay of that benefit for the year since his death.

My mother was absolutely floored by this, especially since she didn't submit any paperwork to the VA. To think that the VA proactively did this still amazes me to this day.

With all that said, I wouldn't leave it up to chance and would still go with the advice of getting help to determine possible benefits.