Citation Nr: 18146308 Decision Date: 10/31/18 Archive Date: 10/31/18 DOCKET NO. 11-24 102 DATE: October 31, 2018 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is remanded. Entitlement to a death pension is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from November 1958 to October 1966. The Veteran died in August 2010. The matter is before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a March 2011 rating decision. The Appellant testified before the Board in May 2017. In September 2017, the Board remanded the matters to determine whether the Appellant was a proper claimant. In a January 2018 Administrative Decision, the RO determined that the Appellant qualified as the surviving spouse of the Veteran from the month of the Veteran’s death until January 1, 2012, which was the first of the month after her remarriage. The RO additionally determined that following the Appellant’s remarriage on December 17, 2011, the Appellant became the qualifying claimant as guardian of the Veteran’s eligible surviving minor children. Consequently, as the Appellant’s status as the proper claimant is no longer in question, the issues have been recharacterized accordingly. 1. Entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is remanded. The matter is not ready for appellate disposition as there is development pending. In February 2018, the RO sent a request for information to “Code 039” to determine whether the Veteran had temporary Vietnam Duty/visitation, this included any TDY orders, performance evaluations, and any other evidence of temporary duty/visitation to Vietnam. An April 2018 response informed the RO not to submit request codes other than request code 050 when the Veteran has been flashed for VBMS. The RO was informed that the “requested documents/information will be provided when the Veteran’s records [were] uploaded in response to your 050 request.” While service personnel records were previously uploaded in the Veteran’s virtual record (April 2015 and January 2018), there is no documented response to this specific request. Such response is necessary as the basis of the Appellant’s claim is that the Veteran, despite personnel records showing service in Thailand, did go to Vietnam while on active duty and was sprayed with Agent Orange. She further asserts that the Veteran’s fatal disease, pulmonary emboli with severe atherosclerotic heart disease and cardiomegaly, was the result of such exposure. The RO must complete the development and readjudicate the matter. Entitlement to a death pension is remanded. The Appellant filed her claim for death pension benefits in October 2010. In the August 2011 statement of the case, the RO explained to the Appellant that she was ineligible to receive death pension benefits because her income exceeded the maximum allowable by law for a surviving spouse with three dependents. She was further informed that the RO was unable to reduce her income by unreimbursed medical expenses as none were reported. The last financial information of record was submitted on the Appellant’s application for pension in October 2010. The Board notes that certain expenses paid during pertinent years may be applied to offset the Appellant’s countable income. Such expenses are listed in 38 C.F.R. § 3.272, and include unreimbursed medical expenses (including insurance premiums) that exceed a certain threshold, and expenses associated with the Veteran’s last illness, burial, and just debts that were paid in pertinent years. 38 C.F.R. § 3.272 (g) and (h). In the case at hand, the Appellant did not originally report having such expenses. The Board finds it necessary to remand this claim for the Appellant to provide thorough and updated information regarding her income and medical expenses since October 2009 (one year prior to her October 2010 claim for death pension benefits) so that accurate calculations may be made to determine her potential eligibility for death pension benefits. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain a documented response to the February 2018 request to code 039/050 to determine whether the Veteran had temporary Vietnam Duty/visitation, to include any TDY orders, performance evaluations, and any other evidence of temporary duty/visitation to Vietnam. If the request for information was submitted to the wrong request code (039) and not resubmitted to the proper code (050), such correction must be accomplished. It should be noted that the Veteran was a Fire Protection Specialist with the 6236 Support Squadron, Don Muang Air Base, Thailand, from October 29, 1965, to April 8, 1966 (at that time the unit was redesignated as the 631 Support Squadron). 2. Send the Appellant a letter asking that she identify complete and updated information as to her income and expenses for the periods from October 2009 through the present, to include any (a) unreimbursed medical expenses (including insurance premiums) that she has paid from October 2009 to the present, and (b) expenses associated with the Veteran’s last illness, burial, and just debts that were paid that may offset the amount of her countable income for death pension eligibility calculation purposes in pertinent years. This letter should notify the Appellant of the additional exclusions from income that are listed in 38 C.F.R. § 3.272, and she should be asked to identify any exclusions from income that are applicable in her case. The letter should be enclosed with Improved Pension Eligibility Verification Reports, Medical Expense Reports, and any other forms required for a full and accurate reporting of the Appellant’s income and expenses for the periods in question. (Continued on the next page)   3. After completion of the above, the RO should review the expanded record and determine whether the benefits sought may be granted. M.E. Larkin Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD K. L. Wallin, Counsel