Evening star., 1924-08-28
YOUR BONUS
Questions That Bother You
Will Be Answered in
This Column.
Address: Room 72I, News De.
partment. The Evening Star.
Washington, ID. C.

| Q. For over ten years l have acted
| as mother to man who served
| honorably during the war. His moth
| er is dead and his father lives in
another state. This man has applied
for adjusted compensation and named
me as his beneficiary. But in read
! ing over the instructions that came
with the blank 1 see that wives,
mothers and fathers, in the order
named, are entitled to the benefits
as dependents. 1 have not really been
dependent nor am I now. How can
l claim the proceeds of the policy as
| a beneficiary and dependent if the
man should die?-G. L. c.
A. You have misunderstood the
terms and the meaning of the words
| beneficiary and dependent. A .bene-
| ficiary is one who is named by the
applicant to receive the benefits of
his policy should he fail to live
twenty years, and thereupon receive
the proceeds himself. A veteran appli-
cant can name any person as bene-
ficiary. dependent is one who sur
wives a veteran who failed to make
an application for the benefits of ad-
justed compensation. The dependents
or heirs permitted to receive the
benefits of adjusted compensation of
deceased veteran are, in the order
named, entitled to the benefits: Wild
ows, if unmarried; children. who are
are presumed to be dependent;
mothers and fathers, who are re-
quired to make under oath a state
ment of dependency. A beneficiary
does not have to be, dependent. A
dependent must have been dependent
upon deceased veteran, and only
certain permitted classes of relatives
are entitled. A beneficiary named by
veteran does not have to be de-
pendent, does not have to be related
and can be changed with the con-
sent of the director of the Veterans
Bureau at any time by the veteran.
A beneficiary has no right, title or
interest in the adjusted compensation
until the veteran applicant has died.
The beneficiary does not have to be
consulted when a veteran applies for
loan upon his policy. Dependents
in the order named II really depend
ent have rights and interests in the
sums found to be due deceased vet
Grams, but beneficiaries have no rights
or interests until after the veterans
death. Beneficiaries named in appli-
cations for the bonus are such only
by sufferance. ---s
O.. l was reared in an orphan asy-
lum in Brooklyn and lived in several
homes in different states before was
eighteen years of age, when 1 enlisted
in the Navy. When enlfsting 1 gave
my home address as Brooklyn, where
my sister lives. Am I entitled to the
New York State bonus? Am / enti-
tied to- the Federal bonus?-A. M.
A. You certainly are entitled to
the New York State bonus and should
make application for it. You are also
entitled to adjusted compensation.
@. Ny son is in the Navy. I am
getting old and now that the bonus
may soon be of some help to my son
l am writing to you with the request
that you get in touch with my son
and appeal to him to give me little
help. am living on charity and GER
tainly my son could help me a little
during my old age. Could you write
to his superior officer and make such
a plea for me? The last time / heard
of him he was on the U. s. s. Hart
ford. Amy assistance you can give