Last week, our city was the site of two full days of events organized by the Veterans Day Council of Indianapolis to recognize the courage, dedication, and sacrifices of the men and women who served in the armed forces, with the celebrations kicking off with an awards ceremony at the Indiana War Memorial.
Since at Geyer Law, we often provide assistance to veterans and their surviving spouses by helping them obtain VA benefits through the Veteran’s Benefits Administration, we were interested in noting the 2025 COLA increase in monthly disability benefits, as well as the broader rating criteria for mental health benefits.Now that all the parades and ceremonies are over, we wanted to focus attention on one benefit that is available for children of disabled veterans in the form of a tuition exemption. Unlike the federal government benefits we usually discuss with our clients, eligibility for this one is determined through the Indiana Department of Veterans’ Affairs, and applies to the children of:
- Purple Heart recipients
- former POWs (prisoners of war) or MIAs (missing in action)
- former students of the Indiana Soldiers and Sailor’s Home
For a child to be eligible for this benefit, the parent must have entered the armed forces from an Indiana home, have served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, or the Gulf War, and must have been rated for a service-related disability. The student must be the biological child of the veteran or have been adopted prior to the age of 18. Students must apply for the benefits prior to reaching their 33rd birthday, and must use the education cost exemption within eight academic years.
The Tuition and Fee Exemption benefit is administered through the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, and provides eligible students up to 124 hours of tuition exemption at any state supported school. Eligible college campuses include:
- Ball State
- Indiana State
- Indiana University
- Purdue
- Ivy Tech
- Vincennes University
- University of Southern Indiana
Advising veterans and their surviving spouses is an important part of our law practice at Rebecca W. Geyer & Associates. Along with helping ensure that veterans’ estate planning documents are in order, we want to be sure they – or their survivors – are aware of the many benefits available through the federal government. It’s important that our clients be aware of the education program available through our state.
– by Ronnie of the Rebecca W. Geyer blog team.
