Citation Nr: 18150350
Decision Date: 11/15/18	Archive Date: 11/14/18

DOCKET NO. 15-14 798
DATE:	November 15, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to accrued benefits is remanded.
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran served on active duty from January 1942 to March 1946.  The Veteran died in May 2008.  The surviving spouse, EJ, died in May 2012.  The Appellant is the adult son of the Veteran and EJ.  This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a March 2014 decision denying accrued benefits.   
Entitlement to accrued benefits is remanded.
The Board finds that there is not enough evidence in the file to make such a determination at this juncture and further development must be undertaken. 
In the April 2015 statement of the case, accrued benefits were denied on the basis that new evidence revealed the income of the surviving spouse, EJ, was incorrectly calculated as it appeared she only paid 20 percent of nursing home costs and her insurance paid the reaming 80 percent.  Thus, the Appellant was notified that the surviving spouse, EJ, was not entitled to pension benefits from May 1, 2011, and consequently, there were no accrued benefits owed.  
In a July 2015 letter, the Appellant was notified that there was a discrepancy in the amount the surviving spouse was paying from her own funds for nursing home charges. Thus, the Appellant was asked to provide proof of payment of all nursing home costs paid by the surviving spouse from April 19, 2011 (the date of her claim), to her date of death. The Appellant was asked to make sure that the proof of payment clearly delineated the name of the person who paid the expenses. He was also asked to provide copies of the trust agreement as the Appellant had alleged that the surviving spouse’s nursing home costs were being paid from her trust and that she had total of $55,900.00, in the trust. The Appellant provided further documentation in December 2015. As there appears to be a discrepancy in the income and exclusions from income, i.e. nursing home costs, the matter must be remanded to prepare an audit.  
In addition, the matter must be remanded to obtain missing documents: VA Form 21-534, Application for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, Death Pension, and Accrued Benefits by a Surviving Spouse received April 19, 2011, with attached medical expense report and care expense statement.  
The matter is REMANDED for the following action:
1. The RO should associate missing documents with the electronic record, to include the VA Form 21-534, Application for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, Death Pension, and Accrued Benefits by a Surviving Spouse received April 19, 2011, with attached medical expense report and care expense statement. 
2. The RO should prepare an audit of the surviving spouse’s death pension benefits with an additional aid and attendance allowance from April 19, 2011, to the date of death. This audit should recalculate the amount of income attribute to the surviving spouse during the applicable time-period and any exclusions from income.  In preparing this audit, the RO should resolve any discrepancies regarding nursing home costs paid by the surviving spouse, EJ, as there has been documents indicating the surviving spouse paid 20 percent of nursing home costs and her insurance paid the remaining 80 percent.  The audit should also resolve any discrepancies in who was paying the nursing home costs, the Appellant or the surviving spouse from her own funds, by reviewing the trust agreement and receipts of payment. 
3. If upon completion of the above action, the claim remains denied, the case should be returned to the Board after compliance with appellate procedures.  
 
E. I. VELEZ
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	K. L. Wallin, Counsel