I could be wrong...and happily, I'm not in the situation where I'm leaving a widow, but I think one of the concerns is whether or not...the entitlement for VIP for widows. This is very much an issue these days. Would a widow really get the VIP? If a veteran is on VIP--the veterans independence program--and dies, the lawn still has to be cut, the snow has to be moved, and all that sort of thing. Sometimes there seems to be some doubt as to whether the widow would be eligible for the same benefits the veteran had.
We haven't seen this new policy long enough, really, to determine how it works. As I said, right now it's a concern rather than a complaint. But we are concerned about it.
The other interesting one that came up--and this probably doesn't affect Veterans Affairs as much as DND--is if a person was killed in Korea, and now, only now, his wife is in need of assistance, does she get VIP? Right now, obviously, she probably wouldn't. And the reason she wouldn't is because of course VIP is a Veterans Affairs program. The pension she's getting from the army is the DND one.
If the guy was fortunate enough to live for a little while and get VIP, and then pass away, his wife would still get it.
But as it is, we don't know.