Whenever I read Matthiessen the naturalist, I am reminded of a film clip I once saw of him trying to catch a snake in the wild.
This webpage only addresses apportionment of incarcerated veterans' benefits, which is the VA's process of taking all or some of a veteran's benefits that would otherwise be reduced or suspended due to incarceration and instead paying those benefits to the veteran's eligible dependents based on their demonstrated financial need.
If you are a spouse, benefits end 10 years from the date VA finds you eligible or from the date of death of the Veteran. If VA rated the Veteran permanently and totally disabled with an effective date of three years from discharge, a spouse will remain eligible for 20 years from the effective date of the rating.