Melanie Wilhelm Dunaway is a third generation of the Wilhelm family to serve in the funeral business and created Advent based on a simple philosophy – It’s about your needs. Not ours.Who to Contact for Benefits? Besides financial institutions, insurance companies and the like, it is important to get in touch with the Social Security Administration, Veterans Administration (if applicable) and your jurisdiction’s Probate and Will Registration offices.
Social Security Benefits
For benefits information, visit the Social Security Administration’s website.
The Social Security Administration has a toll-free number that operates from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday: 1-800-772-1213. If you have a touch-tone phone, recorded information and services are available 24 hours a day, including weekends and holidays. People who are deaf or hard of hearing may call their toll-free TTY number, 1-800-325-0778, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Monday through Friday. Please have your Social Security number handy when you call.
Veteran’s Benefits
Benefits from the Veterans Administration may be available to help defray funeral and cemetery expenses. For detailed information about benefits, including Military Funeral Honors, please visit the United States Department of Veterans Affairs website or call 1-800-827-1000.
Be ready to provide the following information:
• Branch of service
• Highest rank
• Service number
• Date and place of entry into military service
• Date and place of discharge from military service
Your funeral director can help you complete all the necessary applications.
Arlington National Cemetery
It is a privilege to qualify for memorialization in our nation’s most honored cemetery. Due to space limitations, the credentials necessary for ground burial are more restrictive today than they were in the past. If armed services personnel or their dependents die while on active duty, they are eligible. Retired military officers, Purple Heart, Congressional Medal of Honor or Presidential Order recipients, people with certain disabilities, and their spouses may also be accepted.
For those who don’t qualify for ground burial, the columbarium at Arlington is available. Any honorably discharged veteran who chooses cremation may have his or her urn placed in the columbarium.
Probate and Will Registration Offices
Maryland
Anne Arundel County
410-222-1430
Calvert County
301-855-1243
Montgomery County
240-777-9600
Prince George’s County
301-952-3250
Virginia
Alexandria City
703-838-4055
Arlington County
703-228-4376
Fairfax County
703-246-4153
Loudoun County
703-777-0270
Prince William County
703-792-6085
District of Columbia
202-879-4800
