What a Veteran's family can claim

Some VA benefits belong to a Veteran's family in their own right and some flow from the Veteran's rating. Chapter 35 education benefits, CHAMPVA, DIC and the caregiver program are the main ones, and which apply depends on the relationship and on whether the rating is total and permanent.

Question one

Start with who you are to them

The rules run differently for a spouse, a son or daughter, a parent and a caregiver. Differently enough that answering this first saves reading four sets of them.

Who are you to the Veteran?

I am married to the Veteran, or I was when they diedHusband, wife, or surviving spouse.I am the Veteran's son or daughterAny age. Several of these carry age rules and they are stated where they apply.I am the Veteran's mother or fatherThe smallest group here, and the one served worst.I look after the Veteran day to dayA partner, a sibling, a friend, a neighbor. It does not have to be a relative.

Two more

Now the two answers that change the list

Almost everything here turns on one of these two. Nothing is stored and nothing is sent anywhere.

Is the Veteran living?

The Veteran is livingThe Veteran has diedA different set of benefits applies, and several of them have filing deadlines.

What does the VA rating say?

A VA disability decision states a percentage. It may also say permanent and total. Those are two separate things, and the second one is what opens most of this list. Pick the closest answer. If nobody has ever looked, say so.

The decision says permanent and totalSometimes written P and T. It is a separate finding from the percentage, and it is the one that opens the most.100 percent, or unemployability, but it does not say permanent and totalOr it might and nobody has checked. Worth knowing exactly, and the list says why.70, 80 or 90 percent30, 40, 50 or 60 percentUnder 30 percentThere is a rating, but I do not know what it saysA common answer, and it does not shorten the list. Every rule below states its own threshold, so the list becomes something to check the decision letter against.There is no VA rating at allNobody has ever filed, or a claim was filed and nothing was granted.

The one part you cannot do alone

Help with a VA claim is free from a VSO or an accredited representative. The Veteran’s health is a separate question.

VHN Membership starts with a Clinical Baseline: every record we can find, and a full evaluation of the Veteran’s physical and mental health. Then a Care Advocate helps them navigate their care.

VA claims are separate from membership. Membership fees pay for healthcare coordination and advocacy, never for help with a VA claim.

Veterans

A free call about the Veteran’s health, their records and what membership would do for them.

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Sources

38 CFR 3.807, Dependents' educational assistance (Electronic Code of Federal Regulations)
38 CFR 3.55, Reinstatement of benefits eligibility based upon terminated marital relationships (Electronic Code of Federal Regulations)
CHAMPVA benefits (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs)
Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs)

Accuracy

Last checked 2026-08-23. Reviewed on a quarterly cycle and maintained by Veteran Health Network's compliance team, who are accountable for what is on this page. Written and reviewed under Veteran Health Network's institutional review process.