The Veteran’s Administration has confirmed they would begin extending benefits to legally married same-sex couples nationwide as a result of the historic marriage equality ruling by the Supreme Court last week, according to American Military Partner Association.
Previously, the VA had denied some benefits to same-sex couples who lived in states where their marriages were not recognized such as Texas. Last week’s Supreme Court ruling negated the legal basis for those denials and the VA confirmed they are currently drafting guidance for their benefits offices to begin issuing benefits to those couples.
Benefits previously denied included VA disability compensation, death pensions, burial rights and even home loan guarantees. Although still working on the final guidance, the VA said they would temporarily hold pending benefits applications that might have been denied under previous guidelines and they will be processed later under the new guidelines.
The American Military Partner Association and Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit in December 2014 on behalf of AMPA members who had been denied benefits. According to Broadway-Mack, the lawsuit should now be unnecessary as long as the new VA rules recognize all legal marriages in every state.