Citation Nr: 21063281
Decision Date: 10/13/21	Archive Date: 10/13/21

DOCKET NO. 16-58 573A
DATE: October 13, 2021

ORDER

Entitlement to dependency and indemnity compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 is dismissed.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. The Veteran died in May 2014.  

2. In September 2021, the Board was notified that the appellant died in June 2017.

CONCLUSION OF LAW

Due to the death of the appellant, 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 had active service with the Army from June 1953 to June 1975.  

In June 2015, the appellant, the Veteran's surviving spouse, submitted a claim for dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC).    

This matter is on appeal to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (the Board) from an August 2015 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).

The Veteran died in May 2014. 

Unfortunately, the appellant died in June 2017 during the pendency of the appeal.  As a matter of law, appellants' claims do not survive their deaths.  Therefore, this appeal must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.  38 U.S.C. § 7104(a); 38 C.F.R. §§ 20.1302, 3.1010.

There are, however, provisions in place to allow for an eligible person to take the appellant's place in the appeal in order to get a final decision.  This process is called substitution.  Following the death of an appellant while a claim or appeal is pending, "another member of the same joint class or a member of the next preferred subordinate category listed in § 3.1000(a)(1) through (5) may substitute for the deceased substitute."  38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(g)(5).  The request to be substituted must be filed within one year of the appellant's death.  38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(g)(5).  To file a request for substitution, you may use VA Form 21P-0847, "Request for Substitution of Claimant Upon Death of Claimant," which can be found online here: https://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/VBA-21P-0847-ARE.pdf.  

The completed form may be submitted electronically via ACCESSVA.  The web address for ACCESSVA is https://eauth.va.gov/accessva/?cspSelectFor=dmhs.  Alternatively, you may mail the completed form to:

Department of Veterans Affairs

Pension Intake Center

PO Box 5365

Janesville, WI 53547-5365

You may also submit the form directly to your nearest VA regional office.  To find a VA regional office nearest you go to https://www.va.gov/find-locations/?facilityType=benefits.

Please note that only certain persons are eligible for substitution.  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; 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(a).  There is a helpful factsheet that explains who is eligible for accrued benefits here: https://benefits.va.gov/BENEFITS/factsheets/general/Accrued.pdf.

 

 

MICHAEL LANE

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	K.L. Byers

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.