§3.1708. Burial of a veteran whose remains are unclaimed. — Inbound Citations

(d) Sections 1.600 through 1.603 are not intended to, and do not:

(1) Waive the sovereign immunity of the United States;

(2) Create, and may not be relied upon to create, any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law against the United States or VA; or

(a) VA provides the following types of burial benefits, which are discussed in §§ 3.1700 through 3.1712:

(1) Burial allowance based on service-connected death;

(2) Burial allowance based on non-service-connected death;

(3) Burial allowance for a veteran who died while hospitalized by VA;

(4) Burial plot or interment allowance; and

(1) Except for claims a State, an agency or political subdivision of a State, or a Tribal organization files under § 3.1707 or § 3.1708, VA will pay, upon the death of a veteran, the first living person to file of those listed in paragraphs (b)(1)(i) through (v) of this section:

(i) His or her surviving spouse;

(ii) The survivor of a legal union between the deceased veteran and the survivor that is not covered by paragraph (b)(1)(i) of this section. For purposes of this paragraph, legal union means a formal relationship between the decedent and the survivor that

(A) Existed on the date of the veteran's death,

(B) Was recognized under the law of the State in which the couple formalized the relationship, and

(C) Was evidenced by the State's issuance of documentation memorializing the relationship;

(iii) His or her children, regardless of age;

(iv) His or her parents or the surviving parent; or

(v) If no executor or administrator has been appointed, VA may pay burial benefits based on a claim filed by a person acting for such estate who will distribute the burial benefits to the person or persons entitled to such distribution under the laws of the veteran's last State of residence.

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, VA must receive a claim for the non-service-connected burial allowance for veterans described within § 3.1705(b) or § 3.1708(b) no later than 2 years after the burial of the veteran. There are no other time limitations to file claims for burial benefits under subpart B of this part.

(iii) A veteran covered under 38 CFR 3.1708(b).