Left Standing

The Accrued Benefits and Substitution Guide walks survivors through eight steps before the one-year wall: mark the date, find an open claim, confirm the order of survivors, choose VA Form 21P-0847, 21P-534EZ, or 21P-601, file with proof, track deadlines. Education only.

The Burial and Military Honors Guide walks a family through eight steps: find the DD214, ask for funeral honors and the flag, choose a cemetery, order the marker, request the memorial certificate, and claim burial allowances on VA Form 21P-530EZ. Education only.

The CHAMPVA Guide for Survivors walks ten steps: find what coverage ended, rule TRICARE in or out, check your veteran's VA status, keep Medicare Parts A and B, file VA Forms 10-10d and 10-7959c, and handle claims after enrollment. Education only.

The DIC Guide for Survivors walks ten steps: check the month-of-death payment, find the DIC path that fits, check the survivor rules, protect the first-year date, get free accredited help, file VA Form 21P-534EZ, and read the decision. Education only.

The First Weeks as a Survivor walks ten early steps after a veteran's death: check the death certificate, order copies, find the DD-214, report the death to VA, Social Security and DFAS, protect joint accounts, and list benefits with a representative. Education only.

The Survivor Education Benefits Guide covers Chapter 35 (DEA) and the Fry Scholarship in seven steps: write down key dates, match each person to a program, find time limits, check the DIC effect, and apply on VA Form 22-5490. Education only.

The Survivors Pension and Aid and Attendance Guide walks ten steps: check service and survivor rules, see how pension and DIC fit, list income and care costs, avoid asset-transfer traps, document care needs on VA Form 21-2680, and file. Education only.

Aid and Attendance does not require failing all five factors. Explains the real helplessness test, factor five on safety and the housebound routes, with a fillable two-week helper log.

Five review lanes, and two of them cannot see new evidence. Sorts supplemental claim, Higher-Level Review and the three Board dockets, with a fillable sorting worksheet and one-year deadline check.

A tie goes to the veteran, and an opinion with no reasoning weighs nothing. Explains benefit of the doubt and includes a page to hand your doctor about nexus opinions.

Accrued benefits must be claimed within one year of the death, and that deadline does not stretch. Lists every survivor benefit to ask about, with a fillable family inventory worksheet.

A death certificate answers only one DIC question. Explains contributory cause and the ten-year total rating route, with a fillable record worksheet for surviving families.

With a presumption, the proof moves to your personnel file. Covers what you still have to establish, where to get your records, and a fillable service timeline worksheet.