Married Ex-Spouse

[john999]

Can a married ex-spouse have any claim to DIC, or any other death benefit of a vet who dies from SC condition? My wife's ex-husband finally did something good and died. I am pretty sure the bastard died from an AO condition. Some private investigator called my wife to try and track down her ex's children. I was taking a nap or I would have told her to ask that he send her a letter making all these requests. She was in shock to an extent so she gave out a lot of information to a stranger over the phone.

John

[JT24usn]

Might help

http://www.benefits.va.gov/warms/docs/admin21/m21_1/mr/part4/subptiii/ch03/ch03_secf.doc

[Berta]

John, I think that is very concerning ......did the PI's phone number pop up on the caller ID? That might be a way to find out if they were legit by googling the phone number..

There is something to consider....perhaps the ex spouse had a AO claim pending when he died.

In that case VA is supposed to seek the beneficiarys for any retro involved.

Depending on many factors , (the age of any children he had, and whether there he had another spouse by now)

, the VA could possibly seek your wife as his ex spouse. to see if there were children of that marriage who should get the retro.

In part:
"(f) Payment of Benefits to Survivors or Estates of Deceased Beneficiaries—
(1) General. If a Nehmer class member entitled to retroactive benefits pursuant to paragraphs ©(1) through ©(3) or (d)(1) through (d)(3) of this section dies prior to receiving payment of any such benefits, VA shall pay such unpaid retroactive benefits to the first individual or entity listed below that is in existence at the time of payment:
(i) The class member's spouse, regardless of current marital status.

Note to paragraph (f)(1)(i):
For purposes of this paragraph, a spouse is the person who was legally married to the class member at the time of the class member's death.
(ii) The class member's child(ren), regardless of age or marital status (if more than one child exists, payment will be made in equal shares, accompanied by an explanation of the division).



http://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/38/3.816

There is a lot more to Nehmer on this matter but it appears to me from above, that if there is retro under Nehmer due the vet and he died before he got the retro, the
children of that past marriage (with your wife) could be eligible for the Nehmer award. .

But the VA sure doesnt hire PIs to find beneficiarys, as far as I know, and would only know of many of them when they did the socalled Nehmer review of all past decision prior to the 2010 regs of Vietnam vets, to see if an AO presumptive was listed as NSC.( Of course they didnt find all potential AO claims ,and survivors still show up from time to time at vet sites asking Nehmer questions.

But the PI knew the veteran had died....or did he really die? When did he die? VA doesnt move fast even if this was a Nehmer matter.

If your wife knows the county and state where he died and the exact date , perhaps she could get a copy of the death certificate because she would still know his SSA number.(and I bet the PI knows it too.)

I never post my birthday on the internet, nor the actual date of my husband's death and some other things....because I learned these are ways scammers can get into ones personal identity stuff.

Vets used to be urged to register their DD 214 with the county court house,in the county they live in, as a good way to always know where the DD 214 is.

That alone set up vets for identity problems many years ago.

Then again, anyone can present themselves with info that the PI had, to get even more info for a nefarious purpose.

I wonder if this vet really has died.

[john999]

Berta

I was also suspicious when I heard that PI's were trying to track down survivors of my wife's deadbeat EX. This guy never had a dime to his name. They have two daughters together. The so-called PI said there were remains of some fund that needed to be distributed to survivors. My wife took no notes nor did she get the PI to send her a letter before she spoke to them. I told her they could have been bill collectors not PI's looking for survivors. She got no phone number or even the name of the PI outfit. The "PI" mentioned SSA money that was left in an account, but I never heard of the SSA hiring PI's to track down survivors. Her Ex had no will nor estate as far as I know except maybe bad debts.

So you think my wife and/or her kids might have a claim under Nehmer? I know so few facts and my wife does not understand or care. Her Ex was SC for a AO condition and I bet he died from either lung cancer or heart disease.

John

[Berta]

I think the kids would have a potential Nehmer claim. I am not sure about your wife.....

"The "PI" mentioned SSA money that was left in an account, but I never heard of the SSA hiring PI's to track down survivors"

Me either.

SSA would know if that is the fact.

This smells like a scam to me.

[Philip Rogers]

The key is never give out any info, especially, blindly, over the phone, w/o confirming who it is you are talking to. jmo

pr