Three VA clocks run for one year after a veteran’s death, and they are not the same kind of clock. The one most pages warn about, the DIC filing date, does not bar anything: file after it and you are still paid, from the day VA gets the claim instead of the month of the death. The other two, accrued benefits and substitution into a pending claim, do bar. Treat the first as a cliff and you panic over money; treat the second and third as the same soft date and a claim is gone.
Enter the date of death and your state. Every date that comes back is computed from a regulation, a statute or a trust document, and the sentence that sets each clock is quoted under it with a link to the source, so you can hand it to a VA representative or a lawyer and ask them to argue with the text rather than with this page. Of the nine dates computed, six are bars, two are back-pay dates, and one is a window that has already closed.
Where each clock comes from
The same nine rules the calculator applies, in the order a survivor usually meets them, each with the sentence it was read from. A bar means miss it and the claim is gone. A back-pay date means you can still file after it, you lose money. Closed means the window has already shut.
VA DIC: file within one year to be paid from the month of death
Back pay Death + one year.
Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, the monthly tax-free VA payment to the surviving spouse of a veteran whose death was service-connected.
If VA receives the DIC claim within one year of the death, payments start from the first day of the month the veteran died. Received later, they start from the day VA gets the claim. Every month of delay past the year is a month of DIC that is never paid.
If it is missed: You can still file. The back pay to the month of death is gone; the claim itself is not.
File with: VA Form 21P-534EZ
First day of the month in which the veteran’s death occurred if claim is received within 1 year after the date of death; otherwise, date of receipt of claim.
38 CFR 3.400(c)(2). Read the source. Verified 2026-09-25 (read at source).
VA accrued benefits: one year, and the claim is barred after it
Death + one year.
Money VA owed the veteran at death but had not paid, for example a rating decided late or a claim still being processed.
The application must be filed within one year of the death. A DIC claim by the surviving spouse is deemed to include a claim for accrued benefits, so the same 21P-534EZ, filed inside the year, covers both.
If it is missed: The accrued-benefits claim is barred by regulation. Ask an accredited representative whether anything applies to your facts; do not assume.
File with: VA Form 21P-534EZ
Application for accrued benefits must be filed within 1 year after the date of death. A claim for survivors pension, compensation, or dependency and indemnity compensation, by an apportionee, surviving spouse, child or parent is deemed to include claim for any accrued benefits.
38 CFR 3.1000(c). Read the source. Verified 2026-09-25 (read at source).
Substitute into the veteran’s pending VA claim or appeal: one year
Death + one year. Only if a VA claim or appeal was open at the death.
If the veteran died with a VA claim or appeal still open, the surviving spouse can step into it and carry it to a decision, with the evidence already in the file.
The request to substitute must reach VA no later than one year after the death. Substitution keeps the veteran’s original filing date and lets you add evidence; a plain accrued-benefits claim is decided on the record as it stood at death.
If it is missed: The right to substitute is lost. Accrued benefits may still be claimed inside the same year on the record as it stood at death.
File with: VA Form 21P-0847
A person may not substitute for a deceased claimant under this section unless the person files a request to substitute with the agency of original jurisdiction no later than one year after the claimant’s death.
38 CFR 3.1010(b). Read the source. Verified 2026-09-25 (read at source).
VA burial allowance: two years after the burial while the death is not yet service-connected
Death + two years.
VA’s burial, funeral and plot allowance.
There is no time limit when the death is service-connected. Until VA has actually granted service connection for the asbestos disease, treat the two-year non-service-connected limit as the deadline, because it is the one that can bar you. This page counts two years from the date of death; the regulation counts from the burial, so if the burial was later you have that many more days.
If it is missed: The non-service-connected allowance is barred. If VA later grants service connection for the death, the service-connected allowance has no time limit.
File with: VA Form 21P-530EZ
VA must receive a claim for the non-service-connected burial allowance for veterans described within 3.1705(b) or 3.1708(b) no later than 2 years after the burial of the veteran. There are no other time limitations to file claims for burial benefits under subpart B of this part.
38 CFR 3.1703(a)(1). Read the source. Verified 2026-09-25 (read at source).
Social Security lump-sum death payment: two years
Death + two years. Only if the veteran had Social Security.
The one-time Social Security death payment to a widow or widower who was living with the worker.
The application must be made within two years of the death. Social Security does not take this one online; call or visit an office.
If it is missed: The payment is not made.
File with: Apply by phone at 1-800-772-1213 or at a Social Security office
You apply for this payment within two years after the date of the insured’s death.
20 CFR 404.391(b); see also 404.392(b). Read the source. Verified 2026-09-25 (read at source).
Social Security survivor benefits: back pay reaches at most six months
Back pay Death + six months. Only if the veteran had Social Security.
Monthly widow’s or widower’s benefits on the veteran’s Social Security record.
Non-disability survivor benefits can be paid for at most the six months before the month you apply. Apply inside six months of the death and every month is reachable; each month you wait beyond that is a month that cannot be paid. Age-based reductions can shorten this further.
If it is missed: You can still apply. Months earlier than six before your application month are not paid.
File with: Apply by phone at 1-800-772-1213 or at a Social Security office
If you file an application for old-age benefits, widow’s or widower’s benefits not based on disability… you may receive benefits for up to 6 months immediately before the month in which your application is filed.
20 CFR 404.621(a)(2). Read the source. Verified 2026-09-25 (read at source).
Wrongful-death lawsuit: the state’s general period
Death + the state’s period.
A civil lawsuit against the companies whose asbestos products the veteran was exposed to, brought by the estate or the family after the death.
Each state sets its own period, and for a wrongful-death claim it generally runs from the date of death. This page shows the general period for the state you picked. Some states start the clock differently, apply a discovery rule for occupational disease, require a personal representative to be appointed first, or run a separate and sometimes shorter period for a survival action. Only a lawyer reading your facts can tell you which applies.
If it is missed: Generally barred. Exceptions exist and are fact-specific; ask before assuming it is gone.
File with: A mesothelioma law firm files this; there is no VA form
General wrongful-death periods by state, cross-checked against two published 51-row tables that agree on every row.
State statute; see the table on this page. Read the source. Verified 2026-09-25 (two published tables agree; statutes not individually read).
Manville Trust claim: three years after the diagnosis or the death, whichever is later
Death + three years.
A claim against the Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust, the oldest and largest asbestos trust. It is the one trust whose filing rule this page has read directly; every other trust sets its own in its Trust Distribution Procedures.
A Manville claim must meet the state statute of limitations in force when it is filed, and, regardless of that statute, may be filed within three years after the date of diagnosis or, if later, the date of the asbestos-related death. This page counts three years from the death, which is the later date for a survivor.
If it is missed: Check the state period first; the Manville rule is the later of the two. Other trusts differ: read each trust’s TDP or ask the firm handling the claims.
File with: Manville Trust proof of claim (a firm normally files it)
In addition, irrespective of the application of any relevant federal or state statute of limitations or repose, any claims may be filed with the Trust within three years after date of diagnosis or, if later, date of asbestos-related death.
Manville 2002 TDP, section F.1(a), amendment adopted January 2010, effective January 1, 2011. Read the source. Verified 2026-09-25 (read at source).
Camp Lejeune Justice Act claim: the window closed on August 10, 2024
Closed Fixed date: August 10, 2024.
The federal cause of action for harm from Camp Lejeune water, created by the PACT Act on August 10, 2022.
The Act allowed claims until two years after enactment, or a short fixed period after the Navy denied an administrative claim, whichever was later; the quoted subsection gives the exact period. New claims are no longer accepted. A claim filed with the Navy before the deadline continues on its own timeline.
If it is missed: Closed to new claims. A claim already filed with the Navy is unaffected by this page.
File with: None for new claims
A claim in an action under this section may not be commenced after the later of (A) the date that is two years after the date of enactment of this Act; or (B) the date that is 180 days after the date on which the claim is denied under section 2675 of title 28, United States Code.
Pub. L. 117-168, section 804(j)(2). Read the source. Verified 2026-09-25 (read at source).
Wrongful-death periods by state
The general period each state gives for filing a wrongful-death lawsuit, counted from the death. Collected 2026-09-25 from two independently published tables that agree on every row; the statutes themselves were not read one by one for this page, and the exceptions that matter most in asbestos cases (discovery rules, tolling, who must be appointed before filing, the separate survival-action period) are not in the table. A mesothelioma law firm reads those against your facts.
| State | Years | State | Years | State | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 2 | Kentucky | 1 | North Dakota | 2 |
| Alaska | 2 | Louisiana | 1 | Ohio | 2 |
| Arizona | 2 | Maine | 2 | Oklahoma | 2 |
| Arkansas | 3 | Maryland | 3 | Oregon | 3 |
| California | 2 | Massachusetts | 3 | Pennsylvania | 2 |
| Colorado | 2 | Michigan | 3 | Rhode Island | 3 |
| Connecticut | 2 | Minnesota | 3 | South Carolina | 3 |
| Delaware | 2 | Mississippi | 3 | South Dakota | 3 |
| District of Columbia | 2 | Missouri | 3 | Tennessee | 1 |
| Florida | 2 | Montana | 3 | Texas | 2 |
| Georgia | 2 | Nebraska | 2 | Utah | 2 |
| Hawaii | 2 | Nevada | 2 | Vermont | 2 |
| Idaho | 2 | New Hampshire | 3 | Virginia | 2 |
| Illinois | 2 | New Jersey | 2 | Washington | 3 |
| Indiana | 2 | New Mexico | 3 | West Virginia | 2 |
| Iowa | 2 | New York | 2 | Wisconsin | 3 |
| Kansas | 2 | North Carolina | 2 | Wyoming | 2 |
Sources: limitationcalc.com and www.kylebachus.com.
What this page leaves out
A date that is not on the list is not a date that does not exist. These are the ones this page knows about and does not compute:
- Survival actions (the veteran’s own claim carried on by the estate) run on their own period in several states and are not shown.
- Tolling, discovery rules and personal-representative requirements change the wrongful-death date in some states and are not modelled.
- Probate and estate deadlines are set by state court rules and are not shown.
- Trusts other than Manville each set their own filing rule in their TDP; none is shown.
- Whether the death qualifies for DIC at all (service connection, marriage requirements) is not decided here.
- CHAMPVA has no filing deadline this page could verify at its source, so it is left to the checklist.
Dollar amounts are deliberately absent. The DIC calculator works out the monthly payment; the surviving spouse checklist covers the steps that have no deadline attached, and widow’s claim or trust claim covers which route to take when both are open.
Questions survivors ask
How long does a surviving spouse have to file for VA DIC after the veteran’s death?
There is no bar. If VA receives the claim within one year of the death, payment starts from the first day of the month the veteran died; received later, it starts from the day VA gets the claim (38 CFR 3.400(c)(2)).
Is there a deadline for VA accrued benefits?
Yes, and it bars. The application must be filed within one year of the death, and a DIC claim by the surviving spouse is deemed to include it (38 CFR 3.1000(c)).
What if the veteran died with a VA claim or appeal still open?
The surviving spouse can substitute into it, keeping the original filing date and the right to add evidence, but the request must reach VA within one year of the death (38 CFR 3.1010(b)).
How long after the death can a Manville Trust claim be filed?
Within three years after the date of diagnosis or, if later, the date of the asbestos-related death, regardless of the state statute of limitations (Manville 2002 TDP, section F.1(a), amendment adopted January 2010, effective January 1, 2011). Other trusts set their own rules.
Can a new Camp Lejeune Justice Act claim still be filed?
No. New claims closed on August 10, 2024 under Pub. L. 117-168, section 804(j)(2). A claim already filed with the Navy before then continues on its own timeline.
If a date here is wrong
Regulations change and this page is only as current as its last verification date, printed under each rule. If a VA representative, a Social Security office or a lawyer gives you a different date, the source link under that rule shows the exact sentence this page read; the disagreement is either in that sentence or in a fact about your case the page does not know. If the page is the one that is wrong, say so through the author’s page and it is corrected with the change noted, as the editorial policy requires.