You know, we talked to folks over at the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors. And that's what's happening in a lot of cases here. MARTÍNEZ: I mean, it just sounds like these rules are keeping military widows and widowers from getting remarried. And frankly, his service didn't count, and his service is gone. It's also the feeling that the government's saying, well, this is over now. You're erasing my husband, Ian, who I loved and wanted to stay with, but couldn't because of circumstances. This feels like you're saying that I'm all settled and that this first marriage never happened. And now she's on Capitol Hill talking to lawmakers, saying, look, this just isn't fair. But it did - it cost her $42,000 a year to do this. Ultimately, she did decide that she wanted to move ahead with having a family, you know, raising a new family, having a new husband. Her name is Rebecca Morrison Mullaney, and I actually spoke to her years ago when she - before she had gotten remarried, trying to make these decisions, trying to understand, you know, what exactly this would be. What happened when she eventually decided to remarry? Her husband was in the army, and then he took his own life when she was just 24 years old. And you interviewed a woman who went through this. What a tough choice, deciding between love and money in this case. I mean, it's - it seems cruel, but to ask someone, hey, is it really worth marrying this person if you're going to lose $40,000 a year, it just puts these spouses who have already gone through so much into an awkward position. They've got to decide whether or not their love outweighs that kind of big financial burden that comes in. If they want to move on and get remarried to a new boyfriend or girlfriend, they've got to make these financial decisions. Basically, these family - these spouses, after they've lost a loved one, they go through the grieving process.

MARTÍNEZ: Yeah, and these rules can lead to something that you call relationship limbo. So it's a real financial burden for these families. That can total up to over 40,000, $50,000 a year. So we're talking anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars a year. I mean, these military survivor benefits can be generous. Leo, can you give us an idea of how much a veteran's surviving spouse stands to lose if they remarry before 55? Joining us now is Military Times reporter Leo Shane III. Federal rules cut off benefits to widows and widowers who get remarried before the age of 55. For military widows and widowers, getting married again can be costly.

Being in limbo meaning