Citation Nr: 21063725
Decision Date: 10/15/21	Archive Date: 10/15/21

DOCKET NO. 17-11 410
DATE: October 15, 2021

ORDER

The appeal is dismissed.

FINDING OF FACT

On February 16, 2021, the Board was notified that the Veteran died in February 2021.

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

Unfortunately, the Veteran died during the pendency of this 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.

 

There are, however, provisions in place to allow for an eligible person to take the Veteran's place in his appeal in order to get a final decision.  This process is called substitution.  While the Board observes that an Application for Burial Benefits, VA Form 21P-530, was received in May 2021, as yet, neither an explicit request to substitute nor any claim that could be so construed has been filed.  See 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(c)(2) (reflecting that a claim for accrued benefits, survivors pension, or dependency and indemnity compensation by an eligible claimant will be deemed to include a request to substitute if a claim for periodic monetary benefits was pending at the time of a Veteran's death).  

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.  The request to be substituted must be filed within one year of the Veteran's death.  38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(b).  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

 

 

JENNIFER HWA

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	L. McCabe, 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.