PALM HARBOR, Fla. — For months Kristin Hoeschele hoped the check was in the mail. She applied for survivor benefits in February after her husband of 31 years, retired marine captain Richard Hoeschele, who served at Camp Lejeune, died of service-connected cancer.
According to the VA, the surviving spouse of a veteran who died from a service-related injury may be able to get monetary benefits. Hoeschele recounted her frustration with the process of applying for the benefits.
“I would send in forms. They would say okay we still need this. So, I'd send them the forms. We still need this. So, I sent them everything I had,” she said.
By July, Hoeschele was still waiting on the VA to process her claim and she was running out of money.
In March, an online fraudster had hacked his way into her checking account, stealing $70,000. That was the life insurance money she had received when her husband died. It left Hoeschele with little more than Social Security to live on.
“I felt pretty awful that they had stolen his insurance money," she said. "That was what I had to survive.”
There was no way to recover her stolen life insurance money but ABC Action News attempted to help by emailing the VA to ask for a review of Hoeschele's claim for survivor's compensation. A spokesperson responded stating: “Thank you for passing along this information. I will have a subject matter expert review available information in VA systems.”
Four weeks later, the VA approved her claim and mailed two checks totaling $15,000. The amount covers payments dating back to her husband’s death in November. Hoeschele said she was amazed by the payment.
“The lovely amount that I got helps so much with the things that I lost,” she said.
The VA on its website said it takes 94 days to process a disability claim and that other claims take longer. If you are anyone you know is waiting on a VA claim the Florida Department of Veteran’s Affairs may be able to help.
