Champva And Survivors

[john999]

What happens when the ChampVA sponsor dies and before the surviving spouse has their DIC approved? Does ChampVA stop until the survivor gets their DIC claim approved? If my wife were to be on Medicare as primary and ChampVA as the secondary medigap coverage and I croak then what? I know the money from my compensation stops, but do all the other benefits to the spouse stop as well until she/he has DIC approved? My wife is entitled to three survivor pensions so to speak. She would be eligible for my SSA, my Civil Service survivor pension and to DIC. The thing is how long does it take for all this to kick in after she applies? Not many survivors just snap out of it in a week and then claim their life insurance and all their survivor pensions. They have to bury their vet and deal with all that plus they might be in grief for a while. The way I see it the survivor can't afford to grieve if they want to keep paying their bills. Now I have some of this taken care of but the insurance thing worries me. One thing I do know is that the vet and the spouse need an emergency fund that will carry them at least 6 months while all this stuff gets worked out. I have the disabled vet insurance which is enough to bury me, but do undertakers extend credit based on the VA insurance? Even if a vet has the grave and headstone paid for by the VA the service and all the extras can come out to $5000-6000. I did take a course in financial planning but I did not get to that specific section I guess. My wife always avoids my talking about what she will have to do if I leave this world before her. She says " John, you worry too much!" Yeah, I have been dealing with the VA for 40 odd years, so I do worry. I think it would behoove her to get one of those medicare advantage plans so she would not be high and dry if I croak and she has to wait for DIC claim.

John

[john999]

I can attest for the need for a health care POA and valid living will. I ended up in court over this when my mother was dying. I was POA and my mother had a Living Will but it was invalid due to changes in Florida law we were unaware of at the time. I do worry because my wife will not address the nuts and bolts of filing for DIC as well as my federal civil service survivor pension. I hope she will log-on here if I pass away before her and get some advice. Her head is so hard about these matters. I think it is just fear. I was personal representative for three relatives and had to do accounting for every single penny in my Aunt and Mother's estate due to sister/lawyer who wanted to be in charge while I did all the work. Being a estate executive is a thankless and stressful chore.

One other thing to check is make sure if you have beneficiary statements for any assets including pensions, insurance, bank accounts, IRA's etc. that they are current. A beneficiary statement has more weight than a Will or Trust. Some cop died here recently and he had left his pension and his IRA to his mother. That was nice except he had a wife and kid. His will said "all to the wife and kid" but the beneficiary statements were to his mother. He had forgot to change them and never thought he would die young. His mother is keeping it all and screw the grandchildren. They are in court, but the wife will loose probably. The burden is on her to prove her husband meant the money to go to her and the kids.

[Philip Rogers]

True, John, a death in a family can bring out some of the worst behavior, in some family members. It's a real shame but it sure happens.

pr

[Buck52]

Yes John999 & Ms Berta & Phillip

It sure is something to prepare for ,lot of these young people don't realize how life can just end all of a sudden.

I try to talk to my spouse about it but she don't...she says if I die before she does just put her in there with me....we been married now 45 years

Edited November 10, 2014 by britton

[Stretch]

John 999, this is a very good question. I am not afraid to talk about my death and I do not worry too much. I have had 6 strokes aa anyurism stinted, and much much more. It is not far away and I am not worried about it except for my wifes continueing.

Berta, is right we need to do another show about this. If it bothers the younger vets, well kids go to your rooms.

[atomicwidow]

I'm back after months away from this site while I awaited determination on DIC and ChampVA as a new widow/surviving spouse of a SC atomic vet. In response to the original question here, it took 6 months from my application to reply, which was a denial. I honestly haven't had the heart to pursue an appeal yet but I have a year from the denial...early grief is weighing me down still.... but I'm gearing up to attack it again.

I wholeheartedly agree that we all need to have our end-of-life decisions and survivor benefits organized, discussed with loved ones, documented, paperwork squared away. We did, and it's helping me tremendously. If our loved ones don't want to discuss it, okay, but at least we did our part to ease their burden after we're gone.

Warm appreciation on this Veteran's Day to all who served and families who lost loved ones to the cause.

[Berta]

Welcome back atomic widow!.....I am sorry to hear of the denial,But when you feel up to it, please scan the Reasons and Bases and Evidence list and attach iot here (cover the C file, name, address prior to scanning) and maybe we can help with ideas for the appeal.

I sure hope your VCAA letter was legal......the ROs still somehow send widows these letters without complying fully with the VCAA law.

I saw a recent remand from the BVA on that today. This widow filed her claim in 2003 and is STILL in the process after the second remand due to the illegal VCAA letter.

I was denied for DIC and multiple other issues and I just kept fighting back until I won.

I have 2 claims pending now and they (VA) say there is a third claim pending too but I don't know what for...and I intend to stay as healthy as I can ,just for spite, to see those claims through, no matter what it takes.