Citation Nr: 20003864 Decision Date: 01/16/20 Archive Date: 01/15/20 DOCKET NO. 17-14 674 DATE: January 16, 2020 ORDER The issue of entitlement to an effective date earlier than January 1, 2014, for the payment of additional compensation for a dependent spouse (K.W.) is dismissed. FINDING OF FACT At the January 2020 Board hearing, the Veteran explicitly, unambiguously, and with a full understanding of the consequences of such action withdrew his appeal as to the issue of entitlement to an effective date earlier than January 1, 2014, for the payment of additional compensation for a dependent spouse (K.W.). CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for withdrawal of the claim for entitlement to an effective date earlier than January 1, 2014, for the payment of additional compensation for a dependent spouse (K.W.), have been met. 38 U.S.C. § 7105 (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 20.204 (2018). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty on from July 1982 to April 2003. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2016 decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). A notice of disagreement (NOD) was submitted in July 2016; a statement of the case (SOC) was issued in December 2016; and the Veteran perfected the appeal with the timely submission of a VA Form 9 in February 2017. In January 2020, the Veteran testified at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. The present appeal also encompassed the issue of entitlement to a waiver of recovery of disability compensation based on an additional allowance for a dependent spouse in the calculated amount of $8,731.43, to include the issue of whether the overpayment was properly created. This issue has been resolved in its entirety per the Veteran's January 2020 testimony on the record. Specifically, the Veteran presented for the record the Decision of the Committee on Waivers and Compromises that (1) granted a partial waiver of the debt for the period that covered July 6, 2006 to December 31, 2013, and (2) that part of the debt that covers the time period when the Veteran had no spouse (i.e., from September 21, 2005, to July 5, 2006), has been repaid by the Veteran. Therefore, the issue is no longer on appeal, and no further consideration is necessary. 1. Entitlement to an effective date earlier than January 1, 2014, for the payment of additional compensation for a dependent spouse (K.W.). An appeal may be withdrawn by an appellant or his or her authorized representative as to any or all issues involved in the appeal at any time before the Board promulgates a decision. 38 C.F.R. § 20.204. At the January 2020 hearing before the Board, the Veteran confirmed on the record that he wished to withdraw his appeal pertaining to the issue of entitlement to an effective date earlier than January 1, 2014, for the payment of additional compensation for a dependent spouse (K.W.). The undersigned Veterans Law Judge then clarified that withdrawing the issues meant that they would be dismissed. As the Veteran confirmed on the record that he wished to withdraw the issue on appeal, and the consequences of such a withdrawal were explained at the hearing, the Board finds that the withdrawal was explicit, unambiguous and done with the full understanding of the consequences of such an action. See DeLisio v. Shinseki, 25 Vet. App. 45 (2011). Accordingly, the Board does not have jurisdiction to review the issue, and the appeal is dismissed. 38 C.F.R. § 20.205. DEBORAH W. SINGLETON Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board H. Hoeft 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.