N.Y.
Veterans' Services Law Section 26
Payment to immediate family members of veterans
(a)
(i) A parent, spouse, or minor child identified in 10 USC 1126 as a gold star parent, spouse, or minor child; or(ii)
a parent, spouse, or minor child of a veteran who died while on active duty, shall upon application to the state commissioner, be paid an annual annuity out of the treasury of the state for the sum of five hundred dollars for such term as such parent, spouse, or minor child shall be entitled thereto under the provisions of this article. Commencing in the year two thousand nineteen, the amount of any annuity payable under this section shall be the same amount as the annuity payable in the preceding year plus a percentage adjustment equal to the annual percentage increase, if any, for compensation and pension benefits administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs in the previous year. Such percentage increase shall be rounded up to the next highest one-tenth of one percent and shall not be less than one percent nor more than four percent. The commissioner of veterans’ services, not later than February first of each year, shall publish by any reasonable means, including but not limited to posting on the department’s website, the amount of the annuity as adjusted payable under this section. The term “parent” for the purposes of this section includes mother, father, stepmother, stepfather, mother through adoption and father through adoption. The term “spouse” for the purposes of this section means a person who was the spouse or domestic partner of the veteran at the time of such veteran’s death regardless of whether such person has remarried or entered into a new domestic partnership since such veteran’s death. The term “minor child” for the purposes of this section means a person who is under the age of eighteen years, or who, after attaining the age of eighteen years and until completion of education or training, but not after attaining the age of twenty-three years, is pursuing a course of instruction at an approved educational institution and who is the biological, step, or adopted child of a veteran. The term “active duty” for purposes of this section shall have the same meaning as such term is defined in section 101 of title 38 of the United States code, and shall also include any period of active duty for training during which the individual concerned died from a disease or injury incurred or aggravated in the line of duty, or any period of inactive duty training during which the individual concerned died from an injury incurred or aggravated in the line of duty or from an acute myocardial infarction, a cardiac arrest, or a cerebrovascular accident which occurred during such training. The terms “active duty for training” and “inactive duty training” for the purposes of this section shall have the same meaning as such terms are defined in section 101 of title 38 of the United States code.(b)
The entitlement of any parent, spouse, or minor child to receive the annuity provided by paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall terminate upon such parent’s, spouse’s, or minor child’s death or upon such parent’s, spouse’s, or minor child’s ceasing to continue to be a resident of and domiciled in the state of New York, but such entitlement may be reinstated upon application to the state commissioner, if such parent, spouse, or minor child shall thereafter resume such parent’s, spouse’s, or minor child’s residence and domicile in the state.(c)
The effective date of an award of the annuity to a parent, spouse, or minor child shall be the day after the date of death of the veteran if the application therefor is received within one year from date of death. If the application is received after the expiration of the first year following the date of the death of the veteran, the effective date of an award of the annuity to a parent, spouse, or minor child shall be the date of receipt of the application by the state commissioner. If the application is denied but is granted at a later date upon an application for reconsideration based upon new evidence, the effective date of the award of the annuity to a parent, spouse, or minor child shall be the date of the receipt of the application for reconsideration by the state commissioner.(d)
Any applicant convicted of making any false statement in the application for the annuity shall be subject to penalties prescribed in the penal law.2.
Qualifications.(a)
Any gold star parent, spouse, or minor child, of a deceased veteran, or a parent, spouse, or minor child of a veteran pursuant to subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (a) of subdivision one of this section, who is a resident of and domiciled in the state of New York, may make application to the department.(b)
No entitlement shall be paid under this section to or for a gold star parent, spouse, or minor child, or a parent, spouse, or minor child of a veteran pursuant to subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (a) of subdivision one of this section, who is in prison in a federal, state, or local penal institution as a result of conviction of a felony or misdemeanor for any part of the period beginning sixty-one days after such parent’s, spouse’s, or minor child’s imprisonment begins and ending with such parent’s, spouse’s, or minor child’s release.(c)
Where one or more gold star parents, spouse, or minor children, or parents, spouse, or minor children of a veteran pursuant to subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (a) of subdivision one of this section, are disqualified for the annuity for a period under paragraph (b) of this subdivision, the state commissioner shall pay the shares of such disqualified parents, spouse, or minor children to the other parents or minor children, if they meet the qualifications on their own.(d)
The decision of the state commissioner on matters regarding the payment of such annuity shall be final.3.
Method of payment.(a)
Evidence of the military service of the deceased veteran for each case shall be furnished in the manner and form prescribed by the state commissioner.(b)
Upon being satisfied that such service was honorable, that other facts and statements in the application of such gold star parent, spouse, or minor child or parent, spouse, or minor child of a veteran pursuant to subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (a) of subdivision one of this section, are true, the state commissioner shall certify to the state comptroller the name and address of such gold star parent, spouse, or minor child, or parent, spouse, or minor child of a veteran pursuant to subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (a) of subdivision one of this section.(c)
Thereafter, the department of taxation and finance, on the audit and warrant of the comptroller, shall pay such gold star parent, spouse, or minor child, or parent, spouse, or minor child of a veteran pursuant to subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (a) of subdivision one of this section, such sum as is authorized by the provisions of this section in semi-annual installments for so long as such qualified gold star parent, spouse, or minor child, or parent, spouse, or minor child of a veteran pursuant to subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (a) of subdivision one of this section, shall meet the requirements of this section.4.
Report. The state commissioner shall submit a report to the governor, the chair of the senate finance committee, and the chair of the assembly ways and means committee not later than January fifteenth of each year this section is in effect. Such report shall include, but not be limited to regulations promulgated pursuant to this section, and a description and evaluation of the program.
Source:
Section 26 — Payment to immediate family members of veterans, https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/VET/26 (updated May 16, 2025; accessed May 17, 2025).
