Citation Nr: 18158760 Decision Date: 12/17/18 Archive Date: 12/17/18 DOCKET NO. 15-20 499 DATE: December 17, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to accrued benefits is dismissed. FINDING OF FACT At the time of her death, the Veteran’s spouse did not have any pending claims for VA benefits. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to accrued benefits have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 5101(a), 5121; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.57, 3.1000. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from March 1943 to February 1946. The Veteran died in September 2008; he was not service-connected for any disabilities and had no pending claims at the time of his death. The Veteran’s spouse died in November 2014; she had no pending claims for VA benefits at the time of her death. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a February 2015 decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Pension Management Center Regional Office (RO) in St. Paul, Minnesota. This decision denied a January 2015 informal claim filed by the appellant, the adult son of the Veteran and his deceased wife, for, inter alia, reimbursement for his mother’s medical expenses, which was interpreted as a claim for accrued benefits. The Board notes that “accrued benefits” are defined as periodic monetary benefits authorized 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 are due and unpaid. 38 U.S.C. § 5121; 38 C.F.R. § 3.1000. For a claimant to prevail on an accrued benefits claim, the record must show the following: (i) the individual has standing to file a claim for accrued benefits; (ii) the VA payee had a claim pending at the time of death; (iii) the VA payee would have prevailed on the claim if he or she had not died; and (iv) the claim for accrued benefits was filed within one year of the VA payee’s death. 38 U.S.C. §§ 5121, 5101(a); 38 C.F.R. § 3.1000; Jones v. West, 136 F.3d 1299 (Fed. Cir. 1998). Upon the death of a surviving spouse, accrued benefits are payable only to the Veteran’s qualifying children. 38 C.F.R. § 3.1000(a)(2). Otherwise, in all other cases, only so much of the accrued benefit may be paid as may be necessary to reimburse the person who bore the expense of last sickness or burial. 38 U.S.C. § 5121(a)(6). For VA purposes, the term “child” is defined as an unmarried person under the age of 18. The only exceptions to his rule are if the child is a student at a VA-approved educational institution, in which case the age limit is 23 years old, or the child became permanently incapable of self-support before reaching the age of 18, in which case there is no age limit. 38 U.S.C. § 101(4); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.57, 3.1000. The Board finds that the appellant’s claim for entitlement to accrued benefits fails as a matter of law. Initially, a review of the record reflects that at no time during their life, did the Veteran or his surviving spouse submit a claim for VA benefits. The appellant maintains that he verbally informed a VA representative in August 2014, prior to his mother’s death, that he intended to file a claim on her behalf for reimbursement of her medical expenses. Additionally, in his March 2015 notice of disagreement, he provided an August 2014 e-mail sent to him by VA with attached fact sheets and blank forms to complete. He appears to be arguing that this e-mail is sufficient to constitute an intent to file a claim. The Board notes that VA amended its adjudication regulations on March 24, 2015, to require that all claims governed by VA’s adjudication regulations be filed on standard forms prescribed by the Secretary, regardless of the type of claim or posture in which the claim arises. See 79 Fed. Reg. 57,660 (Sept. 25, 2014). However, under the old regulations, any communication or action, indicating an intent to apply for one or more benefits under laws administered by VA, from a claimant or the claimant’s representative, may be considered an informal claim. Such informal claims must identify the benefit sought. A review of the record reflects that the first indication of an informal claim filed by the appellant was in January 2015 when he filed a Medical Expense Report detailing the caregiver expenses for his deceased mother. The RO characterized this Medical Expense Report as a claim for accrued benefits. The August 2014 e-mail from the VA cited to by the appellant only reflects VA sending the appellant fact sheets and blank forms. This document does not identify any specific benefit being sought, and is therefore insufficient to constitute an informal claim. Further, the Board notes that the record does not reflect any prior telephonic communication from the appellant regarding an intent to file a claim on his mother’s behalf while she was alive. Further, the Board notes that although the appellant had power of attorney over his mother while she was alive, this does not give him legal standing to file a stand-alone claim for reimbursement for her medical care after her death. See 38 U.S.C. § 5121. Accordingly, because the record reflects that the Veteran’s spouse did not have any type of claim pending at the time of her death, there are no possible accrued benefits that could be paid to the appellant, and the claim must therefore be dismissed. As this claim must be dismissed as a matter of law, the benefit of the doubt rule is not for application. See Sabonis v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 426, 430 (1994). M. Donohue Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Angeline DeChiara, Associate Counsel