Ask about DIC

[Song]

Ask. About DIC 

Edited July 29, 2022 by Song
Need more assistance

[pwrslm]

Hello

Check into EBenefits web site or Vets.gov under your husbands account. Find the section in the top right hand corner with his name and select My VA from the dropdown. This page will show you all of the ratings your husband has. If he is getting paid 100%, it should say:

100%

This rating doesn’t include any disabilities for your claims that are still in process. You can check the status of your disability claims or appeals with the Claim Status tool.

You should also look at the letters that can be printed out from the same web site. Top of page, search for "letters" then open "Download VA Benefit Letters". From there you can get a letter in PDF format named "Benefit Summary and Service Verification letter" that will say if your husband is 100%, and if it is considered permanent and total. 

 

Your post states he was 100% TDIU which was permanent/total. This would mean that his actual rating was less than 100% but he qualified for it because he was unemployable from his disability. After that he was diagnosed with 2 more types of cancer which were connected, but reduced to 90%, not TDIU. This is where it is confusing, and the page I directed you to above should clear that up. IF it does not, let us know here please.

[Berta]

It is difficult to determine what a living veteran will die from and often it is the cause of death on the death certificate that reveals the exact cause of death.

Thiese are the regulations for DIC:

"Am I eligible for VA DIC as a surviving spouse or dependent?

As a surviving spouse

Eligibility

You may be eligible for VA benefits or compensation if you meet these requirements.

 

One of these must be true:

 

You lived with the Veteran or service member without a break until their death, or

If you’re separated, you weren’t at fault for the separation

And one of these must be true:

 

You married the Veteran or service member within 15 years of their discharge from the period of military service during which the qualifying illness or injury started or got worse, or

You were married to the Veteran or service member for at least 1 year, or

You had a child with the Veteran or service member

Note: If you remarried, you can receive or continue to receive compensation if one of these describes you:

 

You remarried on or after December 16, 2003, and you were 57 years of age or older at the time you remarried, or

You remarried on or after January 5, 2021, and you were 55 years of age or older at the time you remarried

Evidence

You’ll need to provide evidence with your claim showing that one of these descriptions is true for the Veteran or service member. Evidence may include documents like military service records, doctor’s reports, and medical test results.

 

Provide evidence showing that one of these is true:

 

The service member died while on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive-duty training, or

The Veteran died from a service-connected illness or injury, or

The Veteran didn’t die from a service-connected illness or injury, but was eligible to receive VA compensation for a service-connected disability rated as totally disabling for a certain period of time

If the Veteran’s eligibility was due to a rating of totally disabling, they must have had this rating:

 

For at least 10 years before their death, or

Since their release from active duty and for at least 5 years immediately before their death, or

For at least 1 year before their death if they were a former prisoner of war who died after September 30, 1999

Note: “Totally disabling” means the Veteran’s injuries made it impossible for them to work."

 

https://www.va.gov/disability/dependency-indemnity-compensation/

 

I can undertand your concerns because your husband has many serious disabilities that have been service connected and any one of them could cause or substantially contribute to death.

As I understand this he will satisfy the 10 year requirement in 2027 and all of the other cancers ciuld have been secondary to or caused by the 2017 cancer that was service connected, as many SC cancers can metastize.

I dont understad the post as to the 8 year provision. I think you mean this regulation:

"

If this description is true…	You may qualify for this benefit	Added monthly amount (in U.S. $)
The Veteran had a VA disability rating of totally disabling (including for individual unemployability) for at least the 8 full years leading up to their death, and You were married to the Veteran for those same 8 years	8-year provision	305.28

"

 

https://www.va.gov/disability/survivor-dic-rates/

 

However that provision rests on obtaining a direct service connected death.

 

 

 

 

 

[Berta]

I bumped up this topic many times and it still is a viable one-

 

I hope none of  your spouses ever need to read it but, as I mention in the many pages of discussion, in the thread ,DIC can be a Very complex issue. Vet reps and VSO get far more veteran claims than DIC claims, so they have to be up to speed as well as everyone here, on the DIC regulations.

A Nehmer death claim is different and I have posted considerable info on that here already, over the years.

 

Edited December 26, 2021 by Berta