Citation Nr: 18153775
Decision Date: 11/29/18	Archive Date: 11/28/18

DOCKET NO. 14-35 548A
DATE:	November 29, 2018
ORDER
Entitlement to additional dependency benefits based on school attendance for the Veteran’s daughter, M., for the period from October 12, 2012, through July 1, 2013, is dismissed as moot.
FINDING OF FACT
In a May 2013 rating decision, the RO re-established M. as a school child, effective October 12, 2012, the date she turned 18, and continued her as a school child until July 1, 2013, the first day of the month after her graduation from high school, representing a full grant of the benefits sought on appeal.
CONCLUSION OF LAW
As there remains no case or controversy affecting the provision of benefits by VA over which the Board may exercise jurisdiction, to additional dependency benefits based on school attendance for the Veteran’s daughter, M., for the period from October 12, 2012, through July 1, 2013, is dismissed.  38 U.S.C. §§ 7104, 7105 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 19.4, 19.5, 20.101 (2017).
REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION
The Veteran, who is the appellant in this case, had active service from January 1984 to January 1988.
This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeal (Board) from a May 2013 decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1. Entitlement to additional dependency benefits based on school attendance for the Veteran’s daughter, M., for the period from October 12, 2012 through July 1, 2013.
As detailed in the July 2010 notification letter, M. was removed from the Veteran’s award on October 12, 2012, the date she turned 18 years of age.  In December 2012, the Veteran submitted VA Form 21-674, Report of School Attendance, indicating that M. was still in high school and would graduate in June 2013.  In the May 2013 decision on appeal, the RO re-established M. as a school child, effective October 12, 2012, the date she turned 18 years of age, and continued her as a school child until July 1, 2013, the first day of the month after her graduation from high school.  In the July 2013 notice of disagreement (NOD), the Veteran appears to have disagreed with removal of M. from his award on July 1, 2013 because M. was still attending school.  He stated that she was enrolling in college with classes starting in August 2013.  However, no formal application was submitted for school attendance at that time.  
The Board notes that the RO sent the Veteran a development letter in March 2015 regarding the required information needed to establish M. as a school child based on college attendance.  The Veteran submitted the required information in March 2015 and M. was recognized as a school child based on college attendance in a June 2015 decision, which also told the Veteran that M. would be removed from the award, effective October 23, 2017, the date she turned 23 years of age.  In December 2015, the Veteran submitted a NOD as to the June 2015 decision, and the RO issued a statement of the case (SOC) in November 2018.  The Veteran has not yet filed a substantive appeal as to the issues addressed in the November 2018 SOC; thus, those issues are not before the Board and will not be addressed in this decision.  
For these reasons, the present appeal is limited to the issue of entitlement to additional dependency benefits based on school attendance for the Veteran’s daughter, M., for the period from October 12, 2012, through July 1, 2013.  As discussed above, the May 2013 decision re-established M. as a school child for the entire period on appeal.   As the May 2013 decision represents a full grant of the benefits sought, the issue is no longer in appellate status as there is no case or controversy presently before the Board, and the appeal is dismissed.  See 38 U.S.C. § 7105.
 
S. B. MAYS
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	M. Thomas, Associate Counsel