In this video, we'll be discussing disability benefits for widows and widowers of deceased
veterans.
My name is Zack Evans, and I am a disability benefits attorney with Wood and Woods Attorneys
in Evansville, Indiana.
The three types of benefits that we're gonna limit this video to are accrued, substitution,
and DIC benefits or dependency and indemnity compensation benefits.
Those are commonly known as death benefits.
The first category accrued benefits, you must file within one year of the veterans death.
It is a stand alone claim.
Your entitlement to accrued benefits is based on claims pending at the time of the veteran's
death.
You can't start a new claim if you submit an accrued claim.
You can't open a new issue.
Unfortunately, under the accrued benefits track, it is a closed record, so you cannot
submit additional evidence.
The amount of your accrued benefits if it's a death on or after December 16, 2003, it's
the total amount of past due benefits that would have or should have been awarded to
the veteran.
If the death is prior to December 16, 2003, you're limited to two years of passed due
benefits.
That's not the most recent two years, so the two years right before death.
It's just any two years.
There's been some litigation in court that has drawn out that distinction.
Previously, the VA was limiting it to the two years right before death, but that's inappropriate.
The second type of substitution.
Substitution claims are very special.
They are the same qualifications that will get you into an accrued claimant position
will qualify you for substitution.
But there are some big differences.
The biggest of them is that it's not a separate claim.
The substitute stands in place of the vet.
I like to think of this as a baton at a track meet.
Whenever you're in a substitution claim, when you're a substituted claimant, you stand in
the veteran's spikes.
An accrued claim stops the race.
You go back to the starting line, and you have to wait for the gun again.
But a substitution is a simple hand off of the claim.
It's much faster, and a huge advantage of substitution claims is that you can submit
new evidence.
If there's a missing link between this condition, that condition, the record's silent on some
level of disability during a pendency of a claim, then you can obtain that expert opinion
and submit that in furtherance of your claim.
The third type and my favorite is dependency and indemnity compensation, or DIC claims.
Essentially, we're trying to link cause of death to service.
The reason that I like this is it provides an ongoing maintenance payment to your widow
after you pass away.
There's a base rate of about $1300 a month.
It goes up if you have dependent children, if you need aid and attendance with your activities
of daily living, or other similar considerations such as if you're housebound due to your own
medical conditions.
Those can all kick your payments up.
I would encourage you to see the full breath of that payment schedule.
It's at benefits.va.gov/compensation/current_rates_DIC.asp.
If you have any questions, please go online or give us a call here at Woods and Woods.
We'd love to help you.