The Survivor and Caregiver Workbook
Worksheets and checklists to help you organize survivor, caregiver, and dependent paperwork, and walk in prepared.
Accrued benefits and substitution both close one year after the death, and this workbook puts those clocks on the first page you will use.
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About this workbook
Fillable worksheets for the paperwork that follows a veteran's death or serious injury. Organize a DIC claim and its four deadlines, prepare a family caregiver program application, and add or remove a dependent, with free help named at every step.
Worksheets inside
- Losing a veteran and claiming survivor benefits
- Applying to be a family caregiver
- Adding or removing a dependent
Which one do you need?
- The free field guide (Filing a Surviving Spouse DIC Claim) walks you through the task, step by step. It's free on this site.
- The book (Left Standing) explains the whole subject in depth, with the reasons behind each rule.
- This workbook is where you do the work: fillable pages that keep your records, dates and notes in one file, in order.
You don't need all three. The free guide is enough to do the steps. The workbook is for people who want it organized in one place.
Details
- Fillable PDF, US Letter, 12 pages, 110 fillable fields
- Fill it on screen in the free Adobe Acrobat Reader, or print it and write by hand
- Current as of October 2026
Pairs with
Free guides and worksheets need no signup. Books and workbooks are coming soon.
Book · Coming soonLeft Standing
Book · Coming soonNever Too Late
Book · Coming soonThe Caregiver's Playbook
Book · Coming soonVA Aid and Attendance Guide
Book · Coming soonWhat He Earned
Free guideFiling a Claim Years After Service
Free guideFiling a Surviving Spouse DIC Claim
Free guideFiling for Aid and Attendance
Free guideThe First Weeks as a Survivor
J. Erickson
Author, educator, former veteran service officer.
J. Erickson is a service-disabled Air Force veteran. He served as a military firefighter and as a veteran service officer, where he spent years walking veterans through the same claims process he writes about now. He holds an MBA and writes plain-language guides for veterans who want to understand the system without a translator.
Read more about the author