Survivors of a veteran have one year from the date of death to apply for VA benefits the veteran was owed but never received. Federal rules call these accrued benefits, and the clock is firm. The Department of Veterans Affairs says an application filed after the first anniversary of the death is too late for the unpaid money.

The rule is permanent, not new, but it catches families every year. A veteran can die while a pension payment, a disability increase or an approved claim is still working its way through the system, and the money does not disappear. It waits for whoever the law names, as long as that person files in time.

What VA counts as accrued benefits

VA’s accrued benefits page, updated Oct. 16, 2026, puts it plainly: they are benefits VA owed a beneficiary at the time of death that were not paid before the person died. The federal regulation, 38 CFR 3.1000, covers unpaid periodic monetary benefits for deaths on or after Dec. 1, 1962.

Insurance and servicemembers’ indemnity are not part of this rule. The regulation also bars accrued pension or compensation for any period when the veteran received active service pay, so the unpaid amount is limited to months when VA actually owed the benefit.

The rule applies after the death of a veteran, a surviving spouse or a child who was receiving or owed VA money. The order of who gets paid depends on which of them died.

Anyone in a family where a veteran died with VA money pending has a simple job: find out whether VA owed the veteran anything on the date of death and, if so, file before the first anniversary of that date. A claim for a veteran’s benefits that was still pending at death counts too, including claims to reopen with new evidence.

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Who gets the money first

When the person who died was a veteran, the surviving spouse gets the accrued benefits first. If there is no spouse, the veteran’s children share the money in equal shares. If there are no children, the veteran’s parents share it equally, but only if they were financially dependent on the veteran at death.

When the person who died was a surviving spouse, the veteran’s dependent children share the money equally. The regulation adds that a higher-ranked person who fails to file in time, or who waives the right, does not pass the entitlement down to someone lower in the order.

That last point matters for families. A widow who does not file within the year does not hand the claim to the children. The money stays unpaid, and every relative lower in the order loses the chance as well.

Which form to file and what to attach

VA lists a different form depending on who is applying. A surviving spouse or child of a veteran uses VA Form 21P-534EZ, online or by mail. A surviving parent of a veteran uses VA Form 21P-535, by mail only.

A person asking VA to reimburse the last illness or burial costs uses VA Form 21P-601, titled Application for Accrued Amounts Due a Deceased Beneficiary. It can be filed online or on paper. VA’s page says that form applies only in some cases.

Those reimbursements are available only when the person who died left no surviving spouse, dependent children or financially dependent parents. The person who paid the expenses applies, or the executor or administrator if the estate paid. Applicants need copies of the bills on company letterhead showing the dates, the services and the costs.

VA also asks for the veteran’s DD214 or other separation papers and the death certificate, or permission for VA to gather them. If the estate has an executor, VA wants a certified copy of the letters of administration or testamentary, bearing the court’s signature and seal.

Pending claims, incomplete forms and the five-year exception

A family can also step into a claim the veteran left open. VA says a survivor can ask to take over, or substitute for, the beneficiary’s pending claim or appeal and submit more evidence. A survivor can instead waive that right, in which case VA decides the claim on the evidence already in the file.

An incomplete application carries its own deadline. If an application is missing information, VA notifies the claimant, and it will not act until the information arrives. The regulation says no benefits are awarded if the missing information does not come in within one year of that notice.

One category runs longer. For lump sum accrued benefits, which are amounts withheld from a competent veteran during hospital, institutional or home care, VA gives five years from the date of the veteran’s death.

The one-year rule counts from the date of death, not from the day the family learned about the claim or received the death certificate. A family that is still sorting through the veteran’s mail months later has less time than it may think.

Is VA money still waiting after a veteran’s death?

A missed first anniversary means the unpaid VA money stays unpaid, and the people lower in the order get nothing either. The surest way to leave less behind is a pension or Aid & Attendance claim that was filed and tracked while the veteran was alive.

The Veterans Benefits Action Kit lays out the three VA pension levels including Aid & Attendance and how to file for free with VA Form 21P-527EZ. It also includes a claim tracker that keeps dates and paperwork for a veteran or a widow in one place.

Get the VA pension kit and claim tracker for a veteran’s unpaid benefits →

This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.