Citation Nr: 20008303
Decision Date: 01/31/20	Archive Date: 01/31/20

DOCKET NO. 19-15 834
DATE: January 31, 2020

ORDER

The appeal for the claim of entitlement to an earlier effective date prior to March 7, 2016 for a grant of individual unemployability is dismissed.  

FINDING OF FACT

On November 18, 2019 the Board was notified by the Social Security Administration that the Veteran died in November 2019.

CONCLUSION OF LAW

Due to the death of the Veteran, the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of this appeal at this time.  38 U.S.C. § 7104(a); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302.  

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION

The Veteran served on active duty from June 1954 to May 1958.  

This matter is on appeal from a November 2018 rating decision.

Entitlement to an earlier effective date prior to March 7, 2016 for a grant of individual unemployability is dismissed.  

Unfortunately, the Veteran passed away during the pendency of the appeal.  As a matter of law, appellants' claims do not survive their deaths.  Zevalkink v. Brown, 102 F.3d 1236, 1243-44 (Fed. Cir. 1996); Smith v. Brown, 10 Vet. App. 330, 333-34 (1997); Landicho v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 42, 47 (1994). 

This appeal on the merits has become moot by virtue of the death of the Veteran and must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.  See 38 U.S.C. § 7104(a); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302.

In reaching this determination, the Board intimates no opinion as to the merits of this appeal or to any derivative claim brought by a survivor of the Veteran.  38 C.F.R. § 20.1106.

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The Board's dismissal of this appeal does not affect the right of an eligible person to file a request to be substituted as the appellant for purposes of processing the claim to completion.  Such request must be filed not later than one year after the date of the appellant's death.  See 38 U.S.C. § 5121A (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(b) (2018).  A person eligible for substitution includes "a living person who would be eligible to receive accrued benefits due to the claimant under section 5121(a) of this title...." 38 U.S.C. § 5121A; see 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(a) (2018). 

An eligible party seeking substitution in an appeal that has been dismissed by the Board due to the death of the claimant should file a request for substitution with the VA office from which the claim originated.  38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(b).

 

 

S. HENEKS

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	E. Long-Ellis, 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.