I had a Friend pass away recently. Retired military, and a veteran of Viet Nam and the Gulf War.
He had no surviving relatives other than his widow.
He had all of the process organized to apply for life insurance , funeral,Civil Service, Army Reserve, and Widows monthly VA pension, and had gone over this with me. He asked that upon his death that I follow through, since his wife is disabled.
I never realized how much paperwork was involved, and how many agencies I would have to deal with, ( OPM, Social Security, VA, Army Reserve, etc.) when I agreed.
His local VA rep was very helpful in filling out the initial forms for the Veterans benefits, including the amount she would receive each month.
The burial benefit arrived quickly.The VA rep also had me to fill out some type of form for one of the widows relatives to be paid for taking care of her, and send forms from her physicians that she was unable to live alone and care for herself.
It has been almost 4 months now and the widow has heard nothing from the VA. Repeated calls to the VA has gotten nowhere other than it is "in the system"..
Dues anyone here know how long it takes to start receiving her monthly payments?