My father was a veteran who served in the army during WWII. At some point, either during his service, or after, he joined Jewish War Veterans (JWV).in the years following his service, he paid dues faithfully until his death.
When he died in I had been out of work for nearly 3 years and was struggling with disability while fighting for Social Security benefits. We had been living together on what was left of my savings and his Social Security income that barely covered the rent and food. At the time of his death, I couldn't afford his funeral or a tombstone.in the days that followed his death, I called JWV and the Veterans Administration to see if he was entitled to any death benefits. I was told that he wasn't. The only thing I found out about was a life insurance policy he had through the VA that would take time to process before I would get a check. Thankfully, with help from friends, relatives and charities, I made do and was able to bury my father and erect a tombstone. I still had out-of-pocket expenses of around $2000.
I went through all the "important" papers that I knew about - those that were in a safe deposit box he maintained, his checkbook, insurance papers, etc. I had been advised by an attorney to hold onto all his papers - bills, letters, etc. For 6 years so it wasn't until Oct. 2009 that I started to get rid of all the papers he had accumulated in his nearly 90 years of life. At that time, I made an interesting discovery: When he was released from the army, he received a document entitled "Assurance Plan of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America." It purports to be a contract between my father and JWV for, among other things, death benefits including the cost of a tombstone.
Neither JWV, nor the Veterans administration mentioned these benefits when I contacted them in 2003. And, in 2009 they refused to honor the promises made in that document when I contacted them about it.
Whether or not this document is a legally binding contract is irrelevant. It is clear that it is intended to list benefits that my father and his family are, or were, entitled to receive. It specifically states "[i]t is suggested that [this document] be filed away so your widow or other beneficiaries may know of the benefits to which they are entitled in case of your death."
It doesn't matter whether these are benefits JWV provides directly, or benefits that would be received from the Veterans Administration. The document clearly indicates the benefits were arranged through the JWV and that the JWV will "assist in the presentation of claims for veterans and their dependents". They were contacted in 2003 when he died, and they did NOTHING at that time to assist me in the presentation of any claim, nor informed me of any benefits that were available.
It is my belief that, for a charitable organization, the JWV has acted less than charitably. I feel that they deceived my father into believing that he and his family would be provided for upon the event of his death but had no intention of actually doing so. If they had intended to provide the benefits, they would have told me about them when I contacted them back in 2003.
I certainly feel ripped off by the Jewish War Veterans of America. My father certainly was ripped off.
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