Military Family Relief Act of 2015

To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the payment of temporary compensation to a surviving spouse of a veteran upon the death of the veteran, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Military Family Relief Act of 2015 2. Authorization for temporary payment of dependency and indemnity compensation or death pension upon the death of a veteran (a) Temporary dependency and indemnity compensation Section 1318 of title 38, United States Code, is amended— (1) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as subsections (e) and (f), respectively; and (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following new subsection (d): (d) (1) Notwithstanding subsection (b) and section 5101(a)(1) of this title and subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), the Secretary may pay temporary dependency and indemnity compensation under this chapter to an individual described in paragraph (2) without regard to whether that individual has submitted a claim for such compensation if, at the time of the death of the veteran, the veteran was in receipt of or entitled to receive (or but for the receipt of retired or retirement pay was entitled to receive) compensation for a service-connected disability continuously rated as total for not less than one year immediately preceding the death of the veteran. (2) An individual described in this paragraph is an individual determined by the Secretary, based on evidence in the file of the deceased veteran on the date of the death of the veteran, including the veteran's death certificate, to be the surviving spouse of the deceased veteran. (3) Any compensation paid under this subsection shall be made for a period not to exceed six months beginning on the first day of the month in which the veteran died. (4) No individual may receive compensation under this subsection and receive during the same period— (A) dependency and indemnity compensation under any other provision of this title; or (B) pension under section 1541 of this title, except as provided in subsection (h)(5) of that section. . (b) Temporary pension Section 1541 of such title is amended— (1) by redesignating subsection (h) as subsection (i); and (2) by inserting after subsection (g) the following new subsection (h): (h) (1) Notwithstanding section 5101(a)(1) of this title, the Secretary may pay pension at the monthly rate of 1/12 (2) An individual described in this paragraph is an individual determined by the Secretary, based on evidence in the file of the deceased veteran on the date of the death of the veteran, to be the surviving spouse of the deceased veteran. (3) Any pension paid under this subsection shall be made for a period not to exceed six months beginning on the first day of the month in which the veteran died. (4) Pension authorized by this subsection shall be paid without regard to the annual income and net worth of the individual. (5) If an individual who is paid pension under this subsection is entitled to pension under another provision of this chapter or to dependency and indemnity compensation under chapter 13 of this title for the period for which the individual was paid pension under this subsection or any part of that period, the individual shall be paid pension under such other provision of this chapter or dependency and indemnity compensation under chapter 13 of this title for that period in the amount by which the pension or compensation to which the individual is entitled exceeds the amount of pension paid under this section for that period. . (c) Conforming amendment Section 5101(a)(1) of title 38, United States Code, is amended by striking A specific claim Except as otherwise provided in this title, a specific claim

Summary: Military Family Relief Act of 2015 Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to pay temporary (not to exceed six months) dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) to the surviving spouse of a veteran if, at the time of death, the veteran was in receipt of or entitled to receive compensation for a service-connected disability rated as total for at least one year preceding the veteran's death. Authorizes the payment to such survivor, for the same period, of any veteran's pension that the deceased was receiving at the time of death, without regard to the annual income and net worth of the surviving spouse. Allows a surviving spouse who is entitled to a pension or DIC under any other VA provision to be paid the amount by which such pension or DIC exceeds the amount of pension paid under this Act.