"A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces,
but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers."

President John F.Kennedy, October 26, 1963.

To help and to donate to the WTC effort please go to www.september11fund.org

For Current News and Special Information for Seniors and Others please click on the following web link for emergency and other information: www.seniors.gov/america-responds.html

We handled the funeral for Officers Principe and DeCross Funeral in Braintree, MA that had over 3,000 officers attending. We also have handled Veteran's funerals with very large attendance.

Here are some important answers to your Veteran's questions including related web sites that give you answers from the U.S. government.

Home of Heroes.com
For information on awards given to U.S. servicepeople in time of war please read information on medals at home of heroes.com or homeofheroes.com

Establishing Veteran Eligibility
To establish veteran eligibility you can have us obtain your DD 214 Form which is the Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty. For veteran's benefits you must have any status other than dishonorable discharge. For more information, download the form in Acrobat PDF format. This form can be sent to:

     National Personnel Records Center
     9700 Page Blvd.
     St. Louis, MO 63132

Taps
If you are a Veteran with an honorable discharge we can arrange for the military to provide Taps for you at the graveside and for a flag for your family to have. More information on Veteran's flags can be seen at: http://www.cem.va.gov/bflags.htm.

Presidential Memorial Certificate
We can also write to the government and obtain a Presidential Memorial Certificate for you and your family. We submit both a death certificate and a copy of your honorable discharge to:

     U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs
     National Cemetery Administration (403A)
     810 Vermont Ave., NW
     Washington, D.C. 20420

To read more about the Certificate you may go to http://www.cem.va.gov/pmc.htm.

Honor Guards
We are able to arrange for honor guards for Veteran's funerals. All honorably discharged Veterans may be buried in a National Cemetery for no cemetery cost and the National Cemetery in Bourne, Mass. is the local one that our firm normally uses.

Cemetaries
For a listing of National Cemeteries and U.S. Memorial Events please see: www.cem.va.gov.

Grave Marker
If you need a Veteran's grave marker for the cemetery you chose to be buried in you can write to:

     Memorial Programs Services (403)
     Department of Veterans Affairs
     810 Vermont Ave., N.W.
     Washington, DC 20420

More grave marker information can be seen at http://www.cem.va.gov/hmorder.htm

Disabled Veterans
Disabled Veteran's families may apply for further monetary awards if the Veteran passed away in a Veteran's hospital or if the Veteran was currently on Veteran's disability payments before death.

What to do about Social Security after a death occurs
http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/deathbenefits.htm
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/onlineservices/

National Veteran's Cemetery please visit:
www.arlington-cemetery.org

State Veteran's Cemetery please visit:
www.cem.va.gov/cem/scg/lsvc.asp

To apply for a headstone or marker please visit:
www.va.gov/vaforms/va/pdf/VA40-1330.pdf

For traumatically injured vet's life insurance visit:
www.insurance.va.gov/sgliSite/TSGLI/TSGLI.htm

Veteran's Transitional Business Opportunities please visit:
www.dmdc.osd.mil/ot

Social Security Benefits

Eligibility:

The deceased worker must have credit for work covered by Social Security, ranging from 1 1/2 to 10 years depending on his or her age at death.

Who May Recieve Monthly Benefits?

If your loved one, the deceased, was receiving benefits then you the next of kin, family member, need to contact the nearest Social Security office and report the death. If you think you may be eligible for survivor benefits, then contact our office immediately.

Social Security benefits help ease the financial burden and responsibility that follows a worker's death. Almost all children under 18 will get monthly benefits if a working parent dies. Other family members MAY be eligible for benefits, too. Anyone who has worked and paid Social Security, FICA, taxes has been earning Social Security benefits for his or her family. The amount of work needed to pay survivors benefits depends on the worker's age at the time of death. It may be as little as 1 to 1.5 years for a young worker. No one needs more than 10 years of work time.

The following family members who USUALLY can get benefits are:

Widows and Widowers age 60 or older.
Widows and Widowers at any age if caring for the deceased's children are under 16 or disabled.
Divorced wives and husbands age 60 or older, if married to the deceased for 10 years or more.
Widows, Widowers, Divorced wives or husbands age 50 or older, if they are disabled.
Children up to age 18.
Children age 18 to 19 if they attend elementary or high school full time.
Children over age 18, if they become disabled before age 22.
The deceased worker's parents age 62 or older, if they were being supported by the worker.

Lump-Sum Death Payment

There is a special ONE-TIME payment, in addition to the monthly benefits, for family members, of $255 dollars which can be paid to a spouse WHO WAS LIVING with the worker at the time of death. If there is none, it can be paid to:

A spouse who is eligible for benefits.
A child or children eligible for benefits.
This payment cannot be made if there is no eligible spouse or child.

Applying for Benefits

You can apply for these benefits by calling 1-800-772-1213, from 7AM to 7PM weekdays. Ask for the number for the Quincy Office when you first call the 800 number.

You may need some of the documents shown on the list below. But don't delay your application because of not having all of the information. The Social Security office can help you obtain some of it. The information need includes, but is not limited by:

Your Social Security number and the deceased social security number.
A death certificate. (Generally, the funeral director provides a statement that can be used for this purpose.)
Proof of the deceased worker's earnings for the last year (W-2 forms or self-employment tax return)
Your birth certificate.
The worker's birth certificate
A marriage certificate, if you are applying for benefits as a WIDOW, widower, divorced wife, or divorced husband.
Your checking or savings account information, if you want direct deposit of your benefits.
You will need to submit original documents or copies certified by the issuing office.
BRING THEM INTO THE QUINCY SOCIAL SECURITY office, they will make copies of them and return your original documents to you.

Note: If you are 65 or older, disabled, or blind, ask the Social Security representative about Supplemental Security Income, (SSI) checks for people with limited income and resources. If you receive SSI, you may also qualify for Medicaid, food stamps, and other social services.

If you don't find the information you are looking for, or would like more specific information on a topic, you can order a booklet from the government at this web site: www.ssa.gov.

Social Security Teleservice - Doing Business By Telephone

You may call Social Security toll-free, 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. The number to use is 1-800-772-1213. To speak with a representative, call between the hours of 7:00am and 7:00pm on regular business days. At other times and on weekends and holidays, you may leave a message and they will call you back, in most cases, the next business day.

You may use the toll-free number to make an appointment either in a Social Security office or telephone to apply for benefits, transact other Social Security business, or just ask questions.

Naval Sea Burial Instructions

Click here for information on Naval Honors Sea Burial

What to do about Social Security after a death occurs
http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/deathbenefits.htm
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/onlineservices/

Links:
     For military history, locator, and chat:
     National Cemetery
     Veterans Services
     National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
     Facilities in Massachusetts

For additional helpful information and links please go to the Links page on this Web site.

View your family tree

For Veteran's Day click here


ISBN: 1563054353		ISBN: 0801861497		ISBN: 1577490770

The gains in education are never really lost. Books may be burned and cities sacked, but truth, like the yearning for freedom, lives in the hearts of humble men.
-Franklin Delano Roosevelt

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.
Mother Teresa

9-11 Tribute Page

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This includes misrepresentation of facts and any form of harassment."

We at Mortimer N. Peck, Inc. take your right to privacy very seriously. We have not nor will ever consider giving out your information including name, address, social security, or date of birth information to any third party without your express knowledge and agreement. The only time that information is used is in the development of our file and of the necessary completion of legal documents which you and/or your family needs. This is our guarantee of privacy of your information to you by us.

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