When I Die Will Wife Get My 30% Compensation?

[les]

I allways wandered how that works. Any help thank you!

[rdawg]

i'm not sure but I think you have to die from your service connected condition and then she must apply for DIC. I think as soon as you die your 30% goes away. Others will chime in.

[brokensoldier244th]

DIC requires 100% disabled, and death from a service connected disability.

[jvretiredvet]

Incorrect.

For a survivor to be granted DIC:

1. The veteran must die as a direct result or a service connected condition. In fact, it's entirely possible to receive 0% and yet the spouse may be eligible for DIC. OR,

2. The veteran dies from sumpin' else, and a service connected condition contributed to his demise. Generally, this must be listed on the death certificate as a contributing factor. OR,

3. The veteran held a total disability rating (100% or TDIU) for 10 years, and ....well, the veteran just dies, from anything, service-connected condition or not.

DIC requires 100% disabled, and death from a service connected disability.

[brokensoldier244th]

Here is where I got the information from. Perhaps they did not arrange it as well as they could have. Sorry for any confusion caused.

http://www.alphadisability.com/surviving-spouses/

Incorrect.

For a survivor to be granted DIC:

1. The veteran must die as a direct result or a service connected condition. In fact, it's entirely possible to receive 0% and yet the spouse may be eligible for DIC. OR,

2. The veteran dies from sumpin' else, and a service connected condition contributed to his demise. Generally, this must be listed on the death certificate as a contributing factor. OR,

3. The veteran held a total disability rating (100% or TDIU) for 10 years, and ....well, the veteran just dies, from anything, service-connected condition or not.

[broncovet]

Well, Berta is the world renowned expert on DIC, and pretty much nobody knows more about that than her, and hopefully she will answer.

However, the short answer is almost certainly, "No" she will not get 30 percent when you die. If she even tried to cash your disability checks, after you die this could be fraud. And eligibilility to DIC is a grey area, since we are unable to accurately predict whether or not you will die of "Service connected" conditions.

Since DIC is rather "iffy" at best, your best bet at assuring her that she will be provided for is sufficient life insurance.

To figure out how much life insurance she would need, here is one way:

Most financial professionals use the "income replacement" method. The first thing you would need to calculate is how much per month your wife would need to maintain her lifestyle without you. For example, lets say you earn 3000 per month, and she would need 2000 of that to maintain her lifestyle after you are gone. Right now, there is at least one company which guarntees 6% on an annuity. Lets further assume she gets 1000 per month in social security. If you have no other "retirement" income, this would mean 1000 per month "deficit" that could be made up with life insurance. To provide her this 1000 per month "deficit", you would need a 200,000 life policy, plus enough to bury you and pay for final medical expenses. You could instruct her to purchase an annuity with a solid life insurance company with that 200,000 which, at 6 percent, would provide her a lifetime income of 1000 per month.

This would also suggest that you would get a yield on the investment equal to or better than inflation. Since this 6% is better than inflation right now, your wife would be set unless there was massive inflation, or she squandered the money, etc.

[Berta]

The VA used to swipe the compensation that came during the veteran's month of death right out of the veteran's checking account, even if it was a joint account with their spouse.

All of that changed years ago.

The last compensation check due to a deceased veteran,

and if a formal DIC claim is NOT being filed, can be applied for with this form:

http://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/VBA-21-601-ARE.pdf

DIC claims now cover the last check due the veteran as part of any benefits due and payable at time of death.

DIC can be a very complex issue.

There is significant information in our DIC forum on the many types of DIC.

I strongly suggest any veteran who does have life insurance to tell their spouse to consider they might need a costly independent medical opinion and should try to put way enough of the insurance proceeds for that purpose-if needed.

Direct SC death means a SC caused or contributed substantially and materially to death and is listed on the death certificate. These claims usually succeed for DIC with few problems.This typ[e of DIC comes with many ancillary benefits as well.

Other DIC is based on 38 USC 1318 "as if" service connected deaths-those where the veteran was in receipt of 100% SC or TDIU comp for a continuous ten year period prior to death. "As if" DIC does not always come with all ancillary benefits.

DIC under Sec 1151,38 USC ( meaning VA caused the veteran's death is also deemed "as if" SC death.

DIc can be paid under the One Year , Five year and POW rules within 1318 USC et al as well and regard a very limited type of DIC claims.

Also DIC can be awarded under a successful CUE claim if the survivor can prove, based on evidence in VA's possession at time of death, that a CUE was made in a past decision and but for the CUE the veteran would have been rated as 100% or TDIU for ten continuous years prior to death.

Other DIC claims are very problematic.

If the death certificate or autopsy does not reveal anything that would warrant a SC as contributing substanially and materially to death, the survivor has to consider whether an IMO would support the death claim.

The reality is that many veterans with SC disabilities die of a none SC condition.

It takes very strong medical evidence for those claims to succeed.If they even CAN succeed.

But nothing is impossible with VA.

I have seen a few BVA awards of DIC regarding claims that,on their surface, did appear to be impossible.Both of my DIC claims were deemed as "impossible" by vet reps and even lawyers.

One of the worse hindrances to DIC claims is that our vet reps out there often don't have a clue on DIC nor do they have the medical knowledge to even properly assess many DIC claims.

If a survivor is willing to study the regulations for DIC, and willing to do the medical leg work these types of DIC claims take, and can provide VA with a strong IMO with a full medical rationale based on the veteran's medical evidence,(if they feel their claim is medically strong enough to go to the expense of an IMO), then they might succeed on attaining DIC if they can prove that the veteran's SC substantially and materially contributed to their death even if the SC was not on the death certificate.

That was the case in my last DIC award last year.

There is no Honor in a Sec 1151 death or a Sec 1151 DIC award.

Those awards reflect the incompetence of VA medical care that some veterans get.

My direct SC DIC award last year brought 99% of Peace with Honor to my dead husband.

But that 1 % left is still to come -under Nehmer.

DICers have to be very careful of the correspondence they can get from the VA.

My award letter said my ancillary benefits were the same under my new DIC award as they were under my Sec 1151 award.HUH? They made up a reg that doesn't even exist!

Same my butt-

they owed me over 96 thousand bucks in multiple ancillary benefits to include REPS.After a battle I got it all.

They are counting on your spouse, after your death,in receipt of a direct DIC award- to be completely unaware of all benefits they might be eligible for and VA can count on them being ill advised by many of our well paid vet reps.

Edited December 29, 2011 by Berta