SERVING
Those That
SERVED
New Jersey State Benefits
To apply - Application for plates and registrations are processed by Motor Vehicle Services. Applications are available at local Motor Vehicle Agencies. For more information, call 888-486-3339.
No Fee Automobile Registration for Medal of Honor Recipients
Medal of Honor recipients are eligible for a no-fee registration and will receive special license plates noting their award. Contact - For information call 1-888-486-3339.
Disability Compensation
The VA compensation program provides you monthly benefits if you are disabled because of an injury or disease incurred in or aggravated during your military service and for certain conditions which may develop after your release from active duty. Benefits are authorized based upon the severity of your claimed disability(ies). If your service-connected disabilities are evaluated as 30 percent or more, you are entitled to additional allowances for your dependents. Contact State Veterans Service Offices listed in appendix B for more information on federal VA compensation and pensions.
Reimbursement of Burial Expenses in a Service-Connected Death
VA will pay a burial allowance up to $2,000 if the veteran's death is service-connected. In some instances, VA also will pay the cost of transporting the remains of a service-disabled veteran to the national cemetery nearest the home of the deceased that has available grave sites. In such cases, the person who bore the veteran's burial expenses may claim reimbursement from the VA.
Death while eligible for pension or compensation - 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 except for receiving military retirement pay. Eligibility also may be established when death occurs in a VA facility, a nursing home under VA contract or a state veterans nursing home. Additional costs of transportation of the remains may be paid.
VA will pay a $300 plot allowance when a veteran is not buried in a cemetery that is under U.S. government jurisdiction under one of the following circumstances:
- the veteran was discharged from active duty because of disability incurred or aggravated in the line of duty.
- the veteran was in receipt of compensation or pension or would have been except for receiving military retired pay.
- the veteran died in a VA facility.
The $300 plot allowance may be paid to the state if a veteran is buried without charge for the cost of a plot or interment in a state-owned cemetery reserved solely for veteran burials. Burial expenses paid by the deceased's employer or a state agency will not be reimbursed.
Time Limits
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.
Contact
For information on monetary benefits, call 1-800-827-1000.
Department of Defense Benefits Military Funeral Honors
The core elements of the funeral honors ceremony, which will be conducted on request, include a minimum two-person detail, flag folding, flag presentation and playing of taps, which may be from a recording. The veteran's parent service representative will present the flag. Military Funeral Honors are provided by the Department of Defense at no cost to the family. The military service request at least 48 hours advance notice in order to organize the funeral honors detail.
Eligibility
- Military members on active duty or in the Selected Reserve.
- Former military members who served on active duty and departed under condition other than dishonorable.
- Former military members who completed at least one term of enlistment or period of initial obligated service in the Selected.
- Reserve and departed under conditions other than dishonorable.
- Former military members discharged from the Selected Reserve due to a disability incurred or aggravated in the line of duty.
Points of Contact for Military Funeral Honors in New Jersey
Funeral Directors
Department of Defense tollfree hotline is only for funeral directors. 1-877-MILHONR (1-877-645-4667.) The Brig. General William C. Doyle Memorial Cemetery in Wrightstown, New Jersey provides burial services at no cost to the family, along with military honors, to all veterans with legal residence in New Jersey, and who were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable or undesirable.
Army, Army Reserve and Army National Guard - Ft. Dix office covers entire state. Call 609-562-4453 or 562-3147.
Headquarters Marine Corps - Call 866-826-3628.
Marine Corps including Reserves - USMC reserve units divide the state by counties. Dover (Picatinny Arsenal) 973-724-4700/4701 covers Sussex, Passaic, Bergen, Warren, Morris, Essex, Hudson, and Union Counties.
