The VA pays for part of your funeral. Your family pays the rest.
Most veterans assume the VA takes care of everything. It covers a plot, a headstone, and military honors — and pays a set allowance after the fact. The funeral home’s bill comes first.
15 minutes by phone · No cost · No obligation
What your VA burial benefits actually cover
You earned real benefits. They’re narrower than most veterans think.
- A gravesite in a VA national cemetery, opened and closed at no cost
- A government headstone or grave marker
- A burial flag, folded and presented to your family
- Military funeral honors
- A burial allowance — up to $1,002 for most deaths, up to $2,000 if the death is service-connected
- A plot allowance of up to $1,002 if you’re buried outside a national cemetery
- The funeral home’s services — the single largest cost
- The casket or urn
- Embalming, preparation, and viewing
- The hearse and local transportation
- A service at your church or local funeral home
- Your spouse’s own funeral costs later
- None of it up front — allowances arrive as reimbursement, after you file
Figures from VA.gov for deaths on or after October 1, 2025. Amounts change annually; eligibility depends on discharge status and circumstances of death.
The check comes later. The bill comes first.
VA allowances are reimbursements — your family pays the funeral home, files the claim, and waits for whatever qualifies. Funeral homes require payment before services begin, typically within about 72 hours. Not from your estate. From your family’s checking account, that week.
The VA reimburses later. The funeral home doesn’t wait.
And the rules are strict: for most deaths there’s a two-year window to file. If the paperwork doesn’t qualify, nothing comes back.
The Benefit Gap Review
About 15 minutes by phone. No cost, no obligation — you keep the numbers either way.
Verify what you’ve earned
We confirm your actual entitlement from your discharge and service dates — not what an ad told you.
Put a real number on the gap
What the VA pays, what a funeral costs where you live, and the exact shortfall.
Cover only the gap
A plan sized to that number, priced for fixed income — never for what the government already provides.
Who this is for — and who it isn’t
This is for you if
- You were honorably discharged
- You’re roughly 55 to 80
- You live on VA compensation, Social Security, or a pension
- You have a spouse or adult children who’d handle your arrangements
This isn’t for you if
- You have substantial savings already set aside for final expenses
- You have a whole life policy in force that covers your funeral
If that’s you, you’re set — and we’d rather tell you that than sell you something you don’t need.
Asked and answered
- Are you the VA?
- No. Veteran Legacy Plan is a private company — not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs or any government agency. We help you verify what the government provides, and cover what it doesn’t.
- What does the review cost?
- Nothing. There’s no charge and no obligation, and you keep your numbers whether or not you do anything with them.
- I have coverage from my service years. Doesn’t that handle it?
- Worth checking. Coverage from your service often ended at separation, or is smaller than remembered. Verifying it is part of the review.
- My spouse isn’t a veteran. What about her costs?
- Your spouse can be buried with you in a national cemetery at no cost — but the VA pays nothing toward her funeral home costs. The review covers both of you.
- What happens after I send the form?
- A licensed specialist calls you, usually within one business day. Fifteen minutes, and you’ll know your number. Nothing has to be decided on that call.
Know your number before your family has to find out.
Sixty seconds to fill out. A licensed specialist calls you — usually within one business day.
- No cost, no obligation
- Your exact VA entitlement, verified
- A real dollar figure for the gap