Veterans who have disabilities caused by their military service can qualify for various benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs, such as disability compensation. However, the VA also offers benefits to the spouses and dependent children of disabled veterans, including educational assistance. Families of loved ones who have permanent and total disabilities connected to their military service should understand their options for obtaining financial benefits through the VA.
Who Qualifies as a Dependent?
Under the VA’s Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance (DEA) program, also called Chapter 35, families can qualify for financial assistance with educational expenses if they meet various eligibility requirements. First, the qualifying veteran in the family must meet one of the following criteria:
- Permanently and totally disabled due to a service-connected condition
- Deceased due to a service-connected condition
- Killed in the line of duty
- Missing in action
- Captured or detained by a hostile force in the line of duty for over 90 days
- Undergoing hospital or outpatient treatment for a service-connected permanent and total disability, and is likely to be discharged for that disability
Qualifying dependents of an eligible veteran include:
- A child, unless the child currently serves in active duty (and is not dishonorably discharged from service) or receives dependency and indemnity compensation, and (before August 1, 2023), who has turned 18 or completed high school or a GED
- A spouse, unless the spouse divorces the veteran, is currently in active duty (and is not dishonorably discharged from service), and has not remarried after the veteran’s death (except when remarrying after January 1, 2004, after turning 57, or when their new marriage ends in death or divorce)
Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance
The DEA program can help pay for various expenses related to a qualifying dependent’s education, including:
- Tuition for undergraduate, graduate, vocational, or technical training degree programs
- Correspondence course fees
- Independent or distance learning course fees
- Tutoring fees
- Fees for admissions (e.g., SAT, ACT, GMAT, GRE, LSAT, MCAT, etc.), licensing, or certification tests, and associated prep courses
- Costs associated with on-the-job training programs, apprenticeships, co-op training, and entrepreneurship training
The specific amount of financial assistance provided to dependents depends on the type of educational or training program an individual has enrolled in, and on either the number of courses they take or the amount of an apprenticeship or on-the-job training program they have completed. The VA may provide less than the full rate to someone enrolled in fewer than a full-time course load at a college, university, vocational program, or trade school.
State-Specific and Supplemental Education Benefits
Many states also offer financial assistance for the educational expenses of eligible dependents of disabled veterans. This assistance may include financial stipends, scholarships, grants, or reduced or waived tuition to attend state-run institutes of higher learning. Specific institutions may also offer scholarships or other financial assistance to qualifying dependents of disabled veterans.
Tips to Help Families Maximize Education Benefits
Families with loved ones who have disabilities resulting from their military service can secure the maximum financial assistance available to them for education by:
- Comparing available financial assistance programs to determine which combination provides maximum benefits
- Applying early to secure funding, especially for state- or institution-based programs
- Coordinating veterans’ benefits with other scholarships and financial aid
- Keeping track of deadlines and eligibility periods, as some programs require dependents to use benefits within a specific period
Contact a VA Disability Benefits Attorney Today
When you have a qualifying service-connected disability or other eligible military service, your spouse and children might obtain financial assistance for their educational expenses. Contact Kinman Law Office today for a free, no-obligation consultation with a VA disability benefits attorney to learn more about the additional benefits that your family members may qualify for if you have an eligible service-connected disability.
