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64 articles in Family Support
Expert guides covering VA disability claims, C&P exam preparation, military-to-civilian career transitions, retirement planning, state veteran benefits, and more. Written for active duty service members, reservists, and retirees navigating life after the military. Browse by category or search for topics specific to your transition.
Military Transition Toolkit publishes in-depth guides across 41 categories to help active duty service members, reservists, and retirees navigate every aspect of military transition. Each article is written with practical, actionable advice you can use immediately — whether you are 12 months from separation or already building your civilian career.
Explore our Family Support articles for veteran-focused guidance and transition resources. Our content is updated regularly and covers topics from VA disability claims and compensation to career planning, financial readiness, and state-by-state veteran benefits.
Looking for something specific? Browse our other categories or use the resources page for curated links to official VA, DoD, and veteran service organization websites. All tools and content on Military Transition Toolkit are free — no account required for public resources.
Start with our most popular tools: the VA combined rating calculator, retirement pay calculator, 50-state benefits comparison, and military resume builder. Each tool is designed specifically for the unique challenges of military-to-civilian transition.
Top articles in this category:
1-855-260-3274. Most family members of veterans don't know this line exists, or assume it's only for spouses of severely injured veterans.
National cemetery eligibility, headstones, military honors, the burial flag, Arlington, burial allowances.
A VA life insurance program for service-disabled veterans that's hard to qualify for after the application window closes.
A monthly benefit that helps low-income wartime veterans and their surviving spouses pay for in-home or facility care.
Your VA priority group (1-8) sets your wait times, copays, and access. What each means, why veterans get misclassified, and how to check which one you're in.
Four of the 30-plus blocks decide almost everything you can claim. Which ones they are, what they mean, and why the short form is not enough.
Free for every veteran
18 transition tools. Zero cost.
VA claims tracker, MOS translator, resume builder, career planner, budget tool — all in one place, all free.
The deadline most service members miss. How to transfer Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits to a spouse or child, why the timing has to be exact, and what families lose when they wait too long.
DIC, SBP, CHAMPVA, education, home loan, burial, life insurance, social security.
Parents of service members who died from service-connected causes can be eligible for monthly VA payments.
When the veteran won't pursue what they've earned, sometimes family steps in. The legal pathways for family-driven claims, what lay statements actually do, and when fiduciary status is appropriate.
VA decision letters are dense, formal, and confusing. Family members who can decode them can spot errors, identify next moves, and help the veteran respond appropriately to whatever the VA decided.
When records are lost, stuck, or never seen, the SF-180 is how families request them.
Three paths for veteran benefits help, with very different costs, capabilities, and use cases.
Family can be a powerful presence at Compensation and Pension exams, or a quiet drag on the rating.
OTH, BCD, and even some Dishonorable veterans still have access to specific VA programs.
Sometimes the veteran can't or won't fight this. Sometimes the family member is the one who has to pick up the application, gather the records, and push it through. A practical guide for the family member doing the work.
Other Than Honorable discharge feels like a closed door. It usually isn't. What family should understand about the path forward, VA character-of-discharge determination, discharge upgrade boards, and the deadlines that matter.
Family presence at routine VA medical and mental health appointments can be useful, neutral, or actively harmful.
Family members get asked to co-sign during the transition financial gap. The legal weight of a co-signature, when it makes sense, and the alternatives that don't bind family to the veteran's debts.
Terminal leave, last LES, first VA payment, first civilian paycheck. The cash flow gap that hits most transitioning families and how to plan for it before separation, not after.