VA Burial and Memorial Benefits: What a Veteran’s Family Can Ask For

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Most families work through veterans benefits in about this order. Each step has its own guide.

1. Eligibility
2. Cemetery or placement
3. Burial allowance
4. Memorial items
5. Military honors
6. Utah options

The benefits at a glance

Each benefit has its own guide. The table shows who provides it and where to read the details.

Sources: VA.gov, burials and memorials; Military OneSource, military funeral honors.

Who handles what

Families often bring every veterans question to the funeral home. Your funeral provider may help coordinate some arrangements or paperwork, but many veterans benefits and eligibility decisions come from a government agency. Knowing which one handles which question can save time.

What the funeral home may help with

Many funeral homes will request military funeral honors, schedule a veterans cemetery burial, get the burial flag, and help you fill out VA forms. Ask which of these it will handle and which your family should do. The decision on each benefit still comes from the agency in the table above.

Sources: VA.gov, burials and memorials; VA National Cemetery Administration, military funeral honors; Utah Department of Veterans and Military Affairs.

What the VA does not cover

Some costs stay with the family. The VA benefits above do not include:

• The funeral home’s service charges. Professional services, transportation, preparation, and use of facilities are the family’s to pay. See our questions to ask a funeral home for how those prices work.
• Fees at a private cemetery. For an eligible veteran, the VA provides a marker or medallion at no cost, but it does not pay a private cemetery’s fees for setting, placement, or maintenance.
• Free cremation. There is no VA cremation benefit. See does the VA pay for cremation? below.
• A plaque or urn for a burial in a private cemetery.
• Replacement of a lost flag. The VA cannot replace one that is lost, destroyed, or stolen.

Sources: VA.gov, headstones, markers, plaques and urns; VA.gov, burial flags.

Does the VA pay for cremation?

No. There is no free cremation for veterans through the VA. If the family qualifies for the burial allowance, it can be put toward cremation costs.

A veteran who is cremated keeps the other benefits. The VA says cremated remains are buried or placed in national cemeteries in the same manner and with the same honors as a casket burial. The veteran can still receive a headstone, marker, or niche marker, a burial flag, military funeral honors, and a Presidential Memorial Certificate.

For what cremation costs in Salt Lake County, see direct cremation costs. For niche placement, see niches and columbariums.

Sources: VA National Cemetery Administration, frequently asked questions; VA.gov, veterans burial allowance.

What spouses and children can receive

A veteran’s spouse or surviving spouse can be buried in a VA national cemetery, even if they remarried after the veteran’s death. A minor child can be too. The VA says that in most cases it provides one gravesite and a single headstone for all eligible family members, so a spouse is usually buried with the veteran and named on the same headstone. If both spouses are veterans, they can ask for side-by-side graves with separate headstones.

In a private cemetery, spouses and children don’t get their own government headstone, but they may be able to have their name inscribed on the veteran’s government headstone or marker.

In certain cases, the VA also pays a set burial amount automatically to an eligible surviving spouse listed on the veteran’s VA profile. See who can claim the burial allowance for what the VA says about it.

Sources: VA.gov, eligibility for burial in a VA national cemetery; VA.gov, headstones, markers, plaques and urns.

Veterans burial in Utah

The Utah Veterans Cemetery and Memorial Park in Bluffdale is run by the state. There is no fee for an eligible veteran’s burial and a fee for a spouse or dependent child ($1,032 starting October 1, 2026). Any funeral home can work with it. Utah also has a VA national cemetery, the Southern Utah National Cemetery in Cedar City. See the Utah Veterans Cemetery guide and national cemetery eligibility for details.

Source: Utah Department of Veterans and Military Affairs, burial benefits.

Where to start after a death

You don’t need every answer on day one. These four steps get the rest moving.

1. Tell the funeral home the person was a veteran

   Say it at the first call or meeting, so the funeral director can plan for honors, the flag, and a cemetery date.
2. Find the DD-214 or other discharge papers

   Nearly every benefit asks for them. If you can’t find them, the National Archives holds military personnel records. Request a copy early.
3. Gather the other documents

   A certified death certificate (the burial allowance claim needs one showing cause of death; see paperwork after a death), itemized receipts for funeral, burial, and transportation, and the veteran’s Social Security number, date of birth, and any VA claim number.
4. Check eligibility with the agency that decides

   Use the table above to see who handles each benefit, then read the matching guide: national cemetery eligibility, Utah Veterans Cemetery, burial allowance, memorial items, or military funeral honors.

Planning ahead: VA Form 40-10007

A veteran who wants burial in a VA national cemetery can ask the VA to confirm eligibility years ahead, so the family isn’t waiting on that decision later. The form is VA Form 40-10007, the Application for Pre-need Determination of Eligibility. Veterans, service members, and eligible family members can apply online, by mail, or by fax.

It covers VA national cemeteries only. For a state veterans cemetery such as the one in Bluffdale, the VA says to contact that cemetery about its own pre-need program.

1. Find the DD-214 and keep it with your other papers
   It’s the first thing the funeral home and cemetery will ask for. Note where it is on the pre-planning worksheet.
2. Decide between a veterans cemetery and a private one
   A veterans cemetery provides the grave. A private cemetery charges for it, though the VA marker or medallion, flag, and honors still apply.
3. If you buy a prepaid funeral plan, tell the funeral home you’re a veteran
   So the plan doesn’t include a grave or marker the VA would provide. See how prepaid funeral plans work.

Source: VA.gov, pre-need eligibility determination.

Where to get official help

Wayfinder is not affiliated with the VA. These offices make the decisions.