Citation Nr: 20002147 Decision Date: 01/09/20 Archive Date: 01/09/20 DOCKET NO. 16-29 107 DATE: January 9, 2020 ORDER Entitlement to accrued benefits is denied. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran died in June 1986. 2. The appellant did not file a claim for accrued benefits within one year following the Veteran’s death. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to accrued benefits have not been met. 38 U.S.C. § 5121 (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 3.1000 (2018). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty with the United States Army from April 1941 to December 1945. The Veteran died in June 1986. The appellant is the Veteran’s surviving daughter. This matter is before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a June 2014 decision of the VA Pension Management Center (PMC) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The appellant testified before the Board at a hearing held by the undersigned in October 2019. A transcript of the hearing is of record. At the hearing, the appellant was granted a 60-day abeyance period for the submission of additional evidence to support her claim. The appellant submitted additional evidence in October 2019 without a waiver. For all substantive appeals received on or after February 2, 2013, any evidence submitted to the Board shall be subject to initial review by the Board unless the appellant or the appellant’s representative requests in writing that the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) initially review such evidence. 38 U.S.C. § 7105(e) (2012). As the appellant filed her VA Form 9, Substantive Appeal, in this matter in June 2016, a waiver is unnecessary. Entitlement to accrued benefits is denied. The appellant and her representative contend the Veteran intended to file claims of entitlement to service connection prior to his death in June 1986. See Board Hearing Transcript, dated October 4, 2019. Accrued benefits are defined as “periodic monetary benefits . . . authorized under law administered by [VA], to which a payee was entitled at his or her death under existing ratings for decisions or those based on evidence in the file at the date of death, and due and unpaid . . . .” 38 U.S.C. § 5121(a); 38 C.F.R. § 3.1000(a). An application for accrued benefits is required to be filed within one year after the date of death. 38 U.S.C. § 5121(c); 38 C.F.R. § 3.1000(c). See Shields v. Brown, 8 Vet. App. 346, 348-49 (1995). Here, the Veteran died in June 1986. VA received an informal claim from the appellant for accrued benefits in May 2013. Following the receipt of the informal claim in May 2013, in March 2014, VA notified the appellant that a completed VA Form 21-601, Application for Accrued Amounts Due a Deceased Beneficiary, had to be completed prior to VA taking further action on the claim. Furthermore, in the March 2014 notification, VA informed the appellant that if a completed application was received within one year of the date of the notification letter, the date of the informal claim could be used if the appellant was entitled to VA benefits. The appellant submitted the completed application form in March 2014. Therefore, as the Veteran died in June 1986, the May 2013 informal claim for accrued benefits was untimely filed. In so finding, the Board acknowledges the appellant’s July 2014 notice of disagreement in which she stated that she was unaware that she needed to submit any forms to be reimbursed for expenses attributed to the Veteran’s funeral and burial. The Board is sympathetic to the appellant’s contention; however, the law pertaining to eligibility for accrued benefits is dispositive of this issue, and the appellant’s claim must be denied because of the absence of legal merit or entitlement under the law. Sabonis v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 426 (1994). Furthermore, the Board acknowledges the appellant’s contention that, prior to the Veteran’s death in June 1986, the Veteran requested representation and intended to file claims for VA benefits, and therefore had a claim pending at the time of his death. See Board Hearing Transcript, dated October 4, 2019. A review of the private medical records submitted by the appellant in October 2019 shows that treatment records in May 1986 and June 1986 contain notations of “recheck VA again. . . trouble finding VA start” and “call about results of LBC [and] V/A.” It is unclear from these notations whether “VA” was in reference to the Department of Veterans Affairs or was an abbreviation for a medical term. Even assuming it was referencing the Department of Veterans Affairs, these notations do not indicate that the Veteran had contacted VA to file a claim for VA benefits. Hence, they are not evidence that the Veteran filed an informal claim for benefits prior to his death. Irrespective, even if the Veteran had filed a claim for benefits prior to his death, the appellant would have needed to file a claim for accrued benefits within a year of the Veteran’s June 1986 death in order for any accrued benefits to be awarded. The Board acknowledges that the Veteran’s son, J.L.H., filed a VA Form 21-534, Application for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation or Death Pension by a Surviving Spouse or Child (including Accrued Benefits and Death Compensation, where Applicable), in September 1987. However, VA received this application more than one year after the Veteran’s June 1986 death, so it was also untimely received. Therefore, as a review of the record illustrates that no timely informal or formal claim was filed within one year of the Veteran’s death, the appellant’s claim for accrued benefits must be denied as untimely according to pertinent statute and regulation. In sum, as VA did not receive a claim for accrued benefits within one year of the Veteran’s June 1986 death, the appellant’s claim for accrued benefits must be denied as a matter of law. M. SORISIO Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board N. Breitbach, Associate Counsel The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential, and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.