Citation Nr: 18154936 Decision Date: 12/04/18 Archive Date: 11/30/18 DOCKET NO. 16-44 523 DATE: December 4, 2018 ORDER Eligibility for assistance in acquiring specially adapted housing for accrued purposes only denied. Eligibility for a special home adaptation grant for accrued purposes only is denied. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. Assistance in acquiring specially adapted housing is not a “periodic monetary benefit” for which accrued benefits are payable. 2. A special home adaptation grant is not a “periodic monetary benefit” for which accrued benefits are payable. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. As a matter of law, the appellant may not receive assistance in acquiring specially adapted housing on an accrued basis. 38 U.S.C. §§ 2101(a), 5121(a); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.809, 3.1000. 2. As a matter of law, the appellant may not receive a special home adaptation grant on an accrued basis. 38 U.S.C. §§ 2101(b), 5121(a); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.809a, 3.1000. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from May 1970 to May 1974. The Veteran filed a claim seeking eligibility for assistance in acquiring specially adapted housing or a special home adaptation grant in January 2013. The Veteran died in October 2013, prior to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) issuing a rating decision. The appellant, the Veteran’s surviving spouse, filed an Application for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation and Death Pension in October 2013. This appeal comes before the Board from a February 2015 rating decision wherein the RO denied the appellant’s claim of entitlement to specially adapted housing and a special home adaptation grant for accrued purposes only. The appellant submitted a Notice of Disagreement in August 2015, received by VA in September 2015, and following the issuance of a Statement of the Case in August 2016, she submitted a VA Form 9 in September 2016 appealing the denials to the Board. As the Board has determined that these claims cannot be granted to the appellant as a matter of law, any unmet duties to notify and assist the appellant as to these claims are moot, and require no further discussion. 38 U.S.C. §§ 3902, 5103(a), 5103A, 5121(a); 38 C.F.R. § 3.159, 3.080; See Nolan v, Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 340, 347-348 (2006); Sabonis v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 426, 430 (1994). Under 38 U.S.C. § 5121: (a) Except as provided in sections 3329 and 3330 of title 31, periodic monetary benefits (other than insurance and servicemen's indemnity) under laws administered by the Secretary to which an individual was entitled at death under existing ratings or decisions or those based on evidence in the file at date of death (hereinafter in this section and section 5122 of this title referred to as "accrued benefits") and due and unpaid, shall, upon the death of such individual be paid as follows: (2) Upon the death of a veteran, to the living person first listed below: (A) The veteran's spouse. . . (c) Applications for accrued benefits must be filed within one year after the date of death. The term "periodic monetary benefits" in section 5121(a) excludes one-time lump-sum payments, such as a payment for specially adapted housing or a special home adaptation grant. See Nolan v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 340, 347-48 (2006); (holding that payments for specially adapted housing are not "periodic monetary benefits" because such benefits may be paid only once). The threshold question that must be addressed here (as in any claim for VA benefits) is whether the appellant is a proper claimant for the benefits sought. The critical (and dispositive) question in these matters is whether the benefits sought are periodic monetary benefits. If not, they may not be awarded as accrued benefits. See 38 U.S.C. § 5121; 38 C.F.R. § 3.1000. As noted above, basic eligibility for assistance in acquiring specially adapted housing and a special home adaptation grant are each not a “periodic monetary benefit;” but are rather one-time payments afforded to veterans who meet certain specified criteria. Therefore, they are not payable as accrued benefits. See 38 U.S.C. § 5121; Nolan, supra. The law is dispositive in these matters. Sabonis v. Brown; 6 Vet. App. 426, 430 (1994). The appellant’s claim for basic eligibility for assistance in acquiring specially adapted housing or for a special home adaptation grant on an accrued basis must therefore be denied. The Board acknowledges that the record documents a December 2013 telephone call wherein the appellant stated her desire to be substituted for any claims pending at the time of the Veteran’s death. However, substitution under 38 U.S.C. § 5121A following the death of a claimant, is also limited to claims for “periodic monetary benefits (other than insurance and servicemember’s indemnity) under laws administered by the Secretary,” or an appeal of such a decision pertaining to periodic monetary benefits. 38 C.F.R. §3.1010. As discussed above, basic eligibility for specially adapted housing or a special home adaptation grant are not periodic monetary benefits, and thus, the appellant is not eligible to substitute for such a claim as a matter of law. MICHAEL MARTIN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD A. Solomon, Counsel