Life insurance and burial benefits for North Carolina veterans

Military life insurance is federal, so the options are the same in every state: convert SGLI to VGLI after separation, apply for VALife if you have a service-connected rating, or buy private coverage. Healthy veterans often compare VGLI against private term life, since VGLI rates rise every five years.

VA national cemeteries

• New Bern National Cemetery (closed to new casket burials) — New Bern
• Raleigh National Cemetery (closed to new casket burials) — Raleigh
• Salisbury National Cemetery (closed to new casket burials) — Salisbury
• Salisbury National Cemetery Annex — Salisbury
• Wilmington National Cemetery (closed to new casket burials) — Wilmington

State veterans cemeteries

• Coastal Carolina State Veterans Cemetery — Jacksonville
• Eastern Carolina State Veterans Cemetery — Goldsboro
• Sandhills State Veterans Cemetery — Spring Lake
• Western Carolina State Veterans Cemetery — Black Mountain

Burial in a VA national cemetery, a government headstone or marker, and a burial flag are available to eligible veterans at no cost; see VA burial benefits for current allowances. Source: VA National Cemetery Administration: Cemeteries in North Carolina

North Carolina's state veterans cemeteries provide the burial plot, opening and closing of the grave, a government headstone with installation, and perpetual care at no cost to eligible veterans discharged under honorable conditions; a burial fee applies for an eligible spouse or family member, and funeral home costs remain the family's responsibility. Source: NC Department of Military and Veterans Affairs: State Veterans Cemetery Program

Honorably discharged veterans with a 100% permanent and total service-connected disability (or who receive VA specially adapted housing benefits), and certain never-remarried surviving spouses, can exclude the first $45,000 of their home's assessed value from property tax; certify Form NCDVA-9 with a veteran service office, then file it with Form AV-9 at the county tax office. Source: NC Department of Military and Veterans Affairs: Veterans Property Tax Relief

The North Carolina Scholarship for Children of Wartime Veterans covers up to eight academic semesters at North Carolina schools for children, under age 25 when they apply, of certain deceased, disabled, combat, or POW/MIA veterans whose qualifying criteria occurred during a period of war. Source: NC Department of Military and Veterans Affairs: Scholarships

For help applying, contact the North Carolina Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.