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Veteran's Arrangements

To honor our veterans:


Lechner Funeral Home will make sure that no extra costs are passed on to the family scheduling funeral services for a veteran or spouse/dependent of a veteran.

The extra costs that the family will NOT be charged could include:

  • Out of town transportation costs to Veterans cemeteries in New Jersey including but not limited to, Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Wrightstown, NJ & Beverly National Cemetery, Beverly NJ.
  • Out of state transportation costs to Washington’s Crossing National Cemetery, Newtown, PA.
  • ut of state transportation costs to Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA.
  • Holding costs while awaiting burial at Arlington National Cemetery which may take up to three to five months.


Who is eligible for veteran's benefits?


To be eligible you must be a veteran discharged or separated from active duty under conditions other than dishonorable, and have completed the required period of service. U.S. Armed Forces members who die on active duty are also eligible, as are spouses and dependent children of eligible living and deceased veterans, and of current and deceased armed forces members. Contact the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs at (800) 827-1000 for more information, or go directly to the VA burial benefits website.



How do you apply?


Veterans benefits are not paid automatically. It is your responsibility to contact the Veterans Administration. To ensure prompt handling of your claim, have the following information ready:

  • Social Security number for yourself and your dependent children
  • Certified copy of original DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty)
  • Certified copy of Death Certificate
  • Verification of the life insurance amount you will receive as a result of the veterans death
  • Paid receipts for hospital and doctor bills incurred by last illness, if applicable
  • Paid receipts for funeral and cemetery expenses
  • If either yourself or the veteran was previously married, provide a certified copy of the original divorce decree or death certificate proving the previous marriage was dissolved by divorce or death
  • If there are dependent children, you will need an original birth certificate for each child under 18 or over 18 if full-time student
  • If over 18 and still in school, you will need to fill out VA Form 21-674
  • If you or the veteran receive Social Security Benefits, the exact amount must be reported
  • If you already have a VA claim number, you must furnish the claim number you have been assigned
  • If you or the veteran receive additional income, the source and exact amount must be reported


Reimbursement of Burial Expenses


VA will pay a burial allowance up to $2,000 if the veteran's death is service connected. VA also will pay the cost of transporting the remains of a service-disabled veteran to the national cemetery nearest the home of a deceased that has available gravesites. In such cases, the person who bore the veteran's burial expenses may claim reimbursement from VA. VA will pay a $300 burial and funeral expense allowance for veterans who, at time of death, were entitled to receive pension or compensation or would have been entitled to compensation but for receipt of military retirement pay. Eligibility also is established when death occurs in a VA facility or a nursing home with which VA contracted. Additional costs of transportation of the remains may be reimbursed. There is no time limit for filing reimbursement claims of service-connected deaths. In other deaths, claims must be filed within two years after permanent burial or cremation.

VA will pay a $300 plot allowance when the veteran is not buried in a cemetery that is under U.S. Government jurisdiction if the veteran is discharged from active duty because of disability incurred or aggravated in line of duty, if the veteran was in receipt of compensation or pension or would have been in receipt of compensation but for receipt of military retired pay, or if the veteran died while hospitalized by VA. The plot allowance is not payable solely on wartime service.

If the veteran is buried without charge for the cost of a plot or interment in a state-owned cemetery reserved solely for veteran burials, the $300 plot allowance may be paid to the state. Burial expenses paid by the deceased's employer or a state agency will not be reimbursed.

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We are available in your time of need. Contact our staff at any hour, at (609) 654-2298.



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LECHNER FUNERAL HOME

24 North Main Street, Medford, NJ 08055
(609) 654-2298
Email: lechnerfh@gmail.com
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