Veterans’ Children May Be Eligible For Higher Payments With no eligible widow, the minor children of a veteran who dies of a service-connected cause after Janu ary 1, 1957, may be entitled to higher compensation payments than were in effect before, the Veterans Administration has announced The term, “no eligible widow”, applies: if the mother is deceased, if the mother was divorced from the veteran at the time of his death, or if the widow subsequently re marries or dies. The higher payments were auth orized by the survivor benefits act which became effective January 1. 1957. Provisions of the new law are optional for children whose father died of a service-connected cause before January 1. However, it usu ally is to their advantage to receive the new benefit. An exception to the general rule are children who are receiving servicemen’s indemnity, the so called “free insurance" for certain deaths occurring between June 27, 1950 and December 31. 1955, in clusive. Such children may concur rently receive both the old from of death compensation and the service men’s indemnity payments.

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