I have some bad news...

[cleduc]

41. In response,

You said:

"I should point out that my mom would have been eligible for half my dad's benefits if he had died ten years after being ruled 100% disabled. He died eight years after, so, was two years short of the cutoff date. The VA has pretty much said they won't bend on this one. Had he made it two years, she most certainly would've been okay."

So your Dad's disabled condition killed him two years faster than 10 years and therefore, your Mom doesn't qualify? Maybe it's just me and something I don't understand but on some level, I find that rigid "rule" kind of offensive and it must have been tough for your Mom to absorb. I say "kind of" only because there's a possibility that I may not understand all the reasoning behind their rules.