What happens to VA back pay if the veteran dies?

Details

• Accrued benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 5121 and 38 CFR § 3.1000 cover benefits the veteran was entitled to but had not received before death, based on evidence in the file at that time.
• A survivor generally must file for accrued benefits within one year of the veteran's death, using VA Form 21P-534EZ.
• If the claim that would have produced the back pay was still pending when the veteran died, substitution (VA Form 21P-0847) may be the applicable path instead.
• Accrued-benefits recovery is limited to evidence already of record at the time of death; it is not an opportunity to develop new evidence the way substitution can be.
• Priority for accrued benefits generally follows the order set out in 38 CFR § 3.1000, starting with a surviving spouse.