Success with VA benefits for senior spouse of deceased veteran.

It took about a year to get my father his benefits which were $1900 a month. It was retroactive from the date of the APPLICATION.

Your elder care attorney should be able to direct you accordingly, as mine did, to the person at the VA who'd help you fill out the application. As far as "easy and simple", it's about as "easy and simple" as any paperwork you'd try to submit to the federal government. I had to dig out a TON of documents including dad's honorable discharge papers, their marriage certificate, birth certificates, etc etc. Plus they could only have a certain amount of earnings each year to qualify, and be unable to perform 3 ADLs in order to get Aid and Attendance benefits.

Your father would have needed to serve in the military during active wartime in order for mom to qualify, and idk about 30 yrs later. My mother received survivor benefits in the amount of $1430 a month in 2022, I believe it was. Retroactive to the date of the application.....not 30 years!! The day our government would cut a check for 30 years backpay....nevermind.

You need to go to your county VA office. It makes things go faster if you have your Dads military duscharge papers. You Mom cannot have married again after his death, I think. No there is not retro from Dads death. Like said from date of application. Its not that type of pension. Its there to help with care.

My experience was about 15 years ago when we tried to get these benefits for my MIL who really needed in home care. We had all the documentation needed and I hand delivered the application to the VA office in NYC.

The individual I gave the application to said it would take years for this application to be reviewed because there was only one person reviewing them. We never heard anything. MIL died three years later.

This is just my story. It might be better now but this is how it went for us.

My understanding is that is retroactive to the date of application.

You can contact the local Veterans Assistance Commission.
Bring the info you have on your dad. (Might not be needed as they can pull up info)
The service they provide is free and they are usually easier to deal with than the VA itself.