Citation Nr: 18143444 Decision Date: 10/19/18 Archive Date: 10/19/18 DOCKET NO. 15-29 759 DATE: October 19, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to reimbursement of expenses relating to the Veteran’s last sickness is granted in the amount of $2,050.00, to the extent that such amount is available from accrued benefits which were due and unpaid at the time of the Veteran’s death. FINDING OF FACT The appellant paid a total of $2,050.00 in expenses relating to the Veteran’s last sickness. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to accrued benefits for reimbursement of expenses relating to the Veteran’s last sickness have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 101, 5121; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.57, 3.1000. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active service from February 1949 to August 1952. The Veteran died in August 2012. The appellant is the Veteran’s daughter. In August 2017, the appellant testified at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A transcript of the hearing is associated with the record. The appellant has not raised any issues with regard to the duty to notify or duty to assist as they pertain to the issue decided herein. See Scott v. McDonald, 789 F.3d 1375, 1381 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (holding that “the Board’s obligation to read filings in a liberal manner does not require the Board . . . to search the record and address procedural arguments when the appellant fails to raise them before the Board.”); Dickens v. McDonald, 814 F.3d 1359, 1361 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (applying Scott to a duty to assist argument). Entitlement to accrued benefits The appellant seeks entitlement to accrued benefits due at the time of the Veteran’s death. She contends that the accrued benefits should be paid to her and her siblings, the Veteran’s other children. She also contends that she should be reimbursed for expenses she paid for an at-home health aide for the Veteran beginning in May 2012 and continuing through the Veteran’s death. Periodic monetary benefits under laws administered by VA, to which a payee was entitled at his or her death under existing ratings or decisions or those based on evidence in the file at the date of death and due and unpaid, will, upon the death of such person, be paid to the Veteran’s spouse, children, or dependent parents. Where no such person exists, only so much of the accrued benefits may be paid as may be necessary to reimburse the person who bore the expense of last sickness and burial. 38 U.S.C. § 5121 (a); 38 C.F.R. § 3.1000 (a). For purposes of accrued benefits, the term “child” is defined, in pertinent part, as a person who is unmarried and (1) under the age of 18; or (2) became permanently incapable of self-support before the age of 18; or (3) under the age of 23 and pursuing a course of instruction at an approved educational institution. See 38 U.S.C. § 101(4)(A); 38 C.F.R. § 3.57(a). In this case, the appellant has not contended, and the record not show, that she is the Veteran’s “child”, as defined for purposes of accrued benefits. Rather, the record reflects that she is greater than 23 years old, and there is no indication in the record that she became permanently incapable of self-support before the age of 18. Accordingly, she does not meet the criteria for entitlement to accrued benefits under 38 C.F.R. § 3.1000(a)(1)(ii) and (2), and may only be awarded accrued benefits to the extent necessary to reimburse her for any expenses she bore for the Veteran’s last sickness and burial under 38 C.F.R. § 3.1000(a)(5). The appellant has not contended that she bore any of the Veteran’s burial expenses. She testified at the August 2017 Board hearing that the Veteran’s burial expenses were paid in full by his insurance. Therefore, the question remaining for consideration is whether the appellant is entitlement to accrued benefits for purposes of reimbursement of expenses relating to the Veteran’s last sickness. In that regard, the record includes an “ Attendant Affidavit “ signed by the Veteran’s home health aide in July 2012 indicating that she began employment in mid-May 2012 and was paid at the rate of $400 per week. A July 2012 letter indicates that the Veteran was admitted to hospice care with a terminal diagnosis of colon cancer in mid-June 2012. A VA Form 21-2680, Examination for Housebound Status or Permanent Need for Regular Aid and Attendance, dated in July 2012 indicates that the Veteran’s hospice care was provided through at-home medical care paid for by his family. The Veteran’s death certificate lists as the immediate cause of death colon cancer. Based on the foregoing, the Board concludes that the record shows that the Veteran’s last sickness was colon cancer and that he received care for his last sickness through at-home medical care paid for by his family at a rate of $400 per week. The appellant has asserted that she deposited funds into the Veteran’s bank account that were then used to pay for the at-home medical care. In support of this assertion, she has submitted a computer printout of a transaction history for the Veteran’s bank account for the period from April 30, 2012, through October 3, 2012. The printout shows regular monthly deposits from VA, the Social Security Administration, and one other source that are consistent with the sources of income listed on an April 2012 VA Form 21-0516-1, Improved Pension Eligibility Report, submitted by the Veteran in April 2012. The printout also shows irregular deposits with a description only of “DEPOSIT.” The irregular deposits are in the amounts of $300.00, $550.00, $500.00, $300.00, and $400.00, for a total of $2050.00. A handwritten note from the appellant on the printout states, “Deposited $2,050.00 cash into my dad’s account to help pay his Bill’s + sitter. Sitter cost $400.00 per week.” The Board finds no reason to question the appellant’s assertion that she was the person who made the $2,050.00 in deposits into the Veteran’s bank account and that those deposits were used to pay for the Veteran’s at-home medical care during his final sickness. As such, the Board finds the evidence submitted by the appellant shows that she paid expenses related to the Veteran’s last sickness in the total amount of $2,050.00. Thus, the Board concludes that the appellant is entitled to accrued benefits for reimbursement of expenses relating to the Veteran’s last sickness in the amount of $2,050.00, to the extent that such amount is available from accrued benefits which were due and unpaid at the time of the Veteran’s death. See 38 U.S.C. § 5121; 38 C.F.R. § 3.1000.   In effectuating this decision, the Agency of Original Jurisdiction will determine the amount of accrued benefits due and unpaid at the time of the Veteran’s death, and will reimburse the appellant up to $2,050.00 from those accrued benefits. MICHAEL MARTIN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD T. J. Anthony, Counsel