MDN FAMILY & SURVIVOR NAVIGATOR
You’re part of the military or Veteran family. What applies to your role?
A spouse, dependent, caregiver, survivor, Gold Star family member, or former spouse can touch several systems at once. MDN starts with your role, keeps the programs separate, and points you to the official owner that actually decides eligibility.
✓ No account✓ No names or identifiers✓ No document upload✓ Official sources control
If a service member died while serving: the military department casualty-assistance process leads the immediate survivor response. Use Funeral & Memorial for death, disposition, honors, cemetery, and cost actions; use this navigator for the survivor’s longer-term identity, health, income, education, and support lanes.
START WITH YOUR ROLE OR NEED
Which description is closest?
Choose the closest pathway. You can run more than one because family health, survivor pay, education, caregiver support, and grief support often overlap.
Loading family and survivor pathways…
Family & Survivor data is unavailable. Use the responsible official VA, TRICARE, DFAS, Social Security, military casualty, or service source rather than relying on an incomplete MDN checklist.
YOUR ACTION MAP
Keep the lanes separate. DEERS/TRICARE, VA, DFAS, Social Security, military casualty/survivor programs, courts, and schools can use different definitions, records, elections, and deadlines. An award, court order, or family relationship in one system does not automatically create eligibility in another.
Need a different layer?Life Events handles who may need an update after marriage, divorce, birth, death, moving, Medicare, and other changes. Funeral & Memorial handles death, burial, honors, cemetery, and cost actions. Benefits Registry lets you browse individual programs.
Open Life Events → Open Funeral & Memorial → Browse benefits →