Effective immediately, many surviving partners of LGBTQ+ veterans, who were previously barred from receiving survivors benefits, have become eligible to apply. Partners include those who had been living in “marriage-type” relationships, but were unable to officially marry until the U.S. Supreme Court recognized the right to same-sex marriage in 2015 in Obergefell v. Hodges and then were not married long enough to be eligible for survivors benefits.
Survivors will have to establish a marriage-type relationship, subject to the same marriage duration requirements seen in heterosexual unions, by showing dates for joint banking accounts, commitment ceremonies, or the joint purchase of a house. These benefits are not retroactive.
“VA is closing a gap in benefits for surviving spouses of LGBTQ+ Veterans, righting a wrong that is a legacy of the discriminatory federal ban on same-sex marriages,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough.