Medically reviewed by: Dr. Marcelo C. DaSilva, MD, FACS, FICS, Senior Medical Reviewer.

Clinical content reviewed by: Eleanor Ericson, RN, BSN and Lisa Hyde Barrett, RN, BSN of Nursing Liaisons.

Last reviewed: 2026-05-09. Editorial policy.

If your veteran has died of mesothelioma or asbestos-related lung cancer, this page is a practical week-by-week checklist for the first 90 days. The goal is to make sure no benefit you are entitled to is missed and that the deadline-bound paperwork gets done in the right order. Some items must happen in the first two weeks. Some can wait. None of them have to be done alone.

You will see professional language in this checklist (DIC, CHAMPVA, PCAFC, accrued benefits, substitution of claimant) because those are the official terms used on VA forms and in trust fund documents. Each one is explained where it appears.

The first 14 days

1. Death certificate — order multiple original copies

The funeral director typically obtains death certificates from the county or state vital records office. Ask for at least 10 to 15 original certificates. Each certificate gets sent to a different agency or insurance company; they generally do not return originals. Common destinations include VA, Social Security, asbestos trust fund administrators, life insurance companies, banks, brokerage firms, the IRS, and the property tax assessor.

If the death certificate does not list mesothelioma or lung cancer as a cause of death, request that the certifying physician amend it to add the cancer as a contributing cause. Most physicians will do this when asked, particularly when it affects survivor benefits. A death certificate listing only “respiratory failure” or “cardiac arrest” without the underlying cancer can complicate later claims.

2. Veteran burial benefits

If the veteran was eligible for VA burial benefits, the funeral director typically helps with the paperwork. The VA provides:

A free flag for the casket.
Military funeral honors (a folded-flag presentation and Taps), through the local Honor Guard.
A burial plot at any open national cemetery, or burial allowance for cemetery costs.
A government-furnished headstone or marker.
For service-connected deaths, additional burial allowance.

The form for survivor burial benefits is VA Form 21P-530EZ. The funeral director or a Veteran Service Officer typically handles the filing.

3. Notify the VA

If the veteran was receiving VA disability compensation, the VA needs to be notified of the death. The compensation payments stop with death. Any payment that arrives for the month after death needs to be returned (the VA reverses the deposit automatically in most cases).

If the veteran had a VA disability claim pending but not yet decided at the time of death, you can substitute as the claimant under VA Form 21-0847 (“Substitution of Claimant Upon Death of a Claimant”). The accrued benefits — back pay from the original effective date through the date of death — are paid to the surviving spouse. File this within 1 year of the date of death.

4. Notify Social Security

The Social Security Administration is usually notified by the funeral director through the EDR (Electronic Death Registration) system, but verify. As a surviving spouse, you may be entitled to:

Social Security survivor benefits (separate from VA DIC; both can be received simultaneously).
A one-time $255 lump-sum death benefit.
Adjustment of your own benefits if you were receiving spousal benefits.

Social Security is filed at ssa.gov or by calling 1-800-772-1213. You will need the death certificate and the veteran’s Social Security number.

Days 15-30: VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC)

5. File VA DIC

Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) is a tax-free monthly benefit paid by the VA to surviving spouses, children, and in some cases parents of a veteran whose death was service-connected. For a veteran who died of mesothelioma or asbestos lung cancer with documented military asbestos exposure, DIC is almost always available.

The form is VA Form 21-534EZ. Filing within 1 year of the veteran’s death allows the effective date to be the date of death, maximizing back pay. A Veteran Service Officer can file it for free. The 2026 base DIC rate is approximately $1,653 per month tax-free. See DIC survivor benefits for mesothelioma for the full detail including the 8-year provision, dependent add-ons, and the Aid and Attendance add-on.

You will need: the death certificate, the marriage certificate, the DD-214, and medical records showing mesothelioma or lung cancer as a cause or contributing cause of death.

6. Apply for CHAMPVA

If your veteran was rated 100 percent service-connected at the time of death, you are eligible for CHAMPVA — the VA program that provides healthcare for surviving spouses and dependents of service-connected veterans. It functions like Medicare for the surviving spouse.

CHAMPVA is filed using VA Form 10-10d. Most surviving spouses find that CHAMPVA, combined with Medicare if eligible, provides comprehensive healthcare coverage with low out-of-pocket costs.

7. Update the home loan and education benefits

If your veteran had a VA home loan, the loan may be assumable by you as the surviving spouse without the typical VA-loan eligibility re-check. Contact the lender. The VA also provides Chapter 35 education benefits (Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance) to surviving spouses and children. Apply at va.gov.

Days 30-60: Asbestos trust fund analysis

8. Begin the trust fund analysis

Asbestos bankruptcy trust funds compensate the surviving spouse separately from VA benefits. There is no offset between the two. The trust fund analysis is handled by a qualified asbestos trust fund attorney, working on contingency with no up-front cost.

What the attorney will do:

Review the veteran’s service history and exposure narrative to identify which companies’ asbestos products were present in the veteran’s specific work.
File claims against each applicable trust on behalf of the estate or you as the surviving spouse, depending on state law.
Coordinate any state-level wrongful-death claim, where applicable.
Handle Medicare/Medicaid liens against the trust fund recovery.

Trust fund deadlines vary by trust. Most allow 4 to 6 years from the date of death to file, but some are shorter. Starting the analysis early is preferred. See asbestos trust funds for veterans.

9. Camp Lejeune PACT Act claim, if applicable

If your veteran (or you, or a dependent child) lived or worked at Camp Lejeune for 30 or more cumulative days between August 1953 and December 1987, the Honoring Our PACT Act of 2022 created a separate federal cause of action for harms from on-base toxic exposure. Surviving family members file the deceased veteran’s claim, and family members who themselves resided on base for 30+ days have independent claims.

The Camp Lejeune PACT Act claim is handled by a qualified personal injury or mass tort attorney, working on contingency with federally-capped fees. See Camp Lejeune asbestos exposure for the detailed pathway.

Days 60-90: estate, taxes, and house in order

10. Estate administration

If your veteran had a will, contact the named executor. If there is no will, the surviving spouse usually administers the estate under state intestate-succession law. An estate or probate attorney can guide the process. Smaller estates often qualify for simplified probate procedures or skip probate entirely depending on state law and how assets were titled.

Common items in this phase:

Transfer titles on house, vehicles, and bank accounts.
Close credit cards held only in the veteran’s name. Notify joint cards of the death (your access continues, but the veteran’s responsibility ends).
Update beneficiaries on your own life insurance, retirement accounts, and any policies that listed the veteran as beneficiary.
File the veteran’s final federal and state income tax returns.

11. State property tax exemption

Many states provide a property tax exemption for surviving spouses of veterans rated 100 percent service-connected. The exemption varies widely by state. Some states exempt the homestead entirely; others provide a partial reduction. The county property tax assessor’s office handles the application.

12. Inventory and update your own benefits

Take stock of what you now have:

Monthly tax-free DIC: approximately $1,653 base, with potential add-ons.
Social Security survivor benefits: typically 100 percent of the veteran’s full retirement-age benefit if you are at full retirement age, less if earlier.
CHAMPVA healthcare if the veteran was 100 percent service-connected.
Trust fund recoveries typically arrive 6 to 12 months after filing.
PACT Act recovery (if Camp Lejeune applies) on its own timeline.
State-level exemptions for property tax and possibly vehicle registration.
Free VA home loan eligibility assumability or transfer.
Chapter 35 education benefits for any dependent children.

Many surviving spouses find that the combined DIC + Social Security + trust fund pathway provides materially more than they expected. The number of separate benefit pathways is the reason most families benefit from working with a Veteran Service Officer (free) and an asbestos trust fund attorney (contingency).

What you do not have to do alone

Each of these has a free or contingency-based professional whose job it is to help:

VA DIC + benefits paperwork → Veteran Service Officer (free)
Asbestos trust fund claims → Asbestos trust fund attorney (contingency)
Camp Lejeune PACT Act claim → PACT Act / mass tort attorney (contingency, federally-capped fees)
Estate administration → Estate or probate attorney (often a flat fee)
Tax filing → CPA or enrolled agent
Grief and emotional support → VA bereavement programs (available at most VA medical centers), or community programs (Soaring Spirits, GriefShare, hospice bereavement programs)
Family logistics → Oncology social worker (often available even after the patient’s death for surviving family)

What to skip or delay

Some decisions feel urgent but are not. Things that can wait several months without consequence:

Major life decisions (selling the house, moving, big career changes). The advice from grief counselors is generally to wait at least 6 to 12 months on these.
Donating clothing, books, tools, or other personal items. Pace yourself.
Memorial events beyond the immediate funeral. Many families hold a one-year remembrance instead of rushing.

The benefit paperwork is time-sensitive. Personal-life decisions usually are not.

What this site is and is not

This site is run by Mesothelioma Funds Administration. We help veterans and their families navigate the asbestos compensation pathways. We are not a law firm, not the VA, and not your attorney. The pages here are educational walkthroughs of public processes. Specific legal, financial, and estate decisions are made with a qualified attorney, accountant, or financial advisor who can evaluate your specific situation.

Related resources

If you would like to walk through your specific situation with someone, the phone line is (800) 763-9692, staffed during business hours.

Have questions about your situation?

Call to speak with someone who can point you to the right Veteran Service Officer, walk you through what evidence you need, or explain how the trust fund pathway works alongside your VA claim. There is no cost and no obligation.

Call (800) 763-9692 Phone line staffed during business hours.

If you are weighing which claim to pursue first

The two systems do not coordinate, do not offset, and have very different time-sensitivity profiles:

Widow VA claim vs trust fund claim: when to pursue which — VA DIC, asbestos trust funds, PACT Act timing. Educational walkthrough of how the systems work in parallel and when sequencing matters.

Surviving Spouse of a Veteran: Checklist for the First 90 Days