Citation Nr: 21067024 Decision Date: 11/03/21 Archive Date: 11/03/21 DOCKET NO. 18-54 696 DATE: November 3, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to accrued benefits is denied. FINDING OF FACT The appellant did not file a claim for entitlement to accrued benefits within one year of the beneficiary's death. CONCLUSION OF LAW Entitlement to accrued benefits is not warranted as a matter of law. 38 U.S.C. § 5121 (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 3.1000. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from January 1951 to October 1952. The Veteran died in February 2010. The appellant is the Veteran's adult child. In January 2021, the appellant testified at a Board hearing. The transcript is of record. 1. Entitlement to accrued benefits The law provides for payment of certain accrued benefits upon death of a beneficiary. Periodic monetary benefits under laws administered by the Secretary to which a payee was entitled at his or her death under existing ratings or decisions or those based on evidence in the file at date of death and due and unpaid, will, upon the death of such person, be paid to the living person first listed below: (A) the veteran's spouse; (B) the veteran's children (in equal shares); (C) the veteran's dependent parents (in equal shares). 38 U.S.C. § 5121 (a), 5121(a)(2); 38 C.F.R. § 3.1000 (a). In all other cases, only so much of the accrued benefits may be paid as may be necessary to reimburse the person who bore the expense of last sickness and burial. 38 U.S.C. § 5121 (a)(6); 38 C.F.R. § 3.1000 (a)(5). In order for a claimant to prevail on an accrued benefits claim, the claim must be filed within one year after the date of death of the individual with respect to whom such benefits are sought. 38 U.S.C. § 5121 (c); 38 C.F.R. § 3.1000 (c). In this case, the deceased beneficiary is the Veteran's surviving spouse. She died in April 2016. By way of background, the beneficiary filed a claim for dependency and indemnity compensation which was signed in April 2016 but was not received until November 2016 which was several months after her death. The record does not indicate that VA was notified of her death ast the time the claim was filed. The RO requested additional evidence in January 2017, which was not received. The beneficiary's claim was denied in March 2017. On March 30, 2018 the appellant filed VA Form 21-601 Application for Accrued Amounts Due a Deceased Beneficiary. The appellant reported that the beneficiary died in April 2016, which is confirmed by the death certificate of record. The Regional Office denied the claim as it was not received within one year of the beneficiary's death. See Notification Letter July 2018. The appellant appealed contending that the deceased beneficiary did not receive a denial of her claim and VA continued to send her correspondence after her death until as late as March 2017. See Notice of Disagreement October 2018. At the hearing, the appellant stated that she assisted the beneficiary with her application for aid and attendance and after her death forwarded the beneficiary's mail to her address. She explained that forwarding the mail likely resulted in the delay in receiving the request for additional evidence, which resulted in the denial of the beneficiary's claim. The Board has considered the appellant's contentions; however, the application for accrued benefits was not filed within a year after the beneficiary's date of death. Therefore, she is not entitled to accrued benefits. 38 U.S.C. § 5121 (c); 38 C.F.R. § 3.1000(c). Moreover, the Board notes that the beneficiary's claim was not received until after her death, thus precluding entitlement to any benefits from which accrued benefits could be paid. While the Board is sympathetic to the appellant's claim, the law is dispositive in this case and the relevant facts are not in dispute. Accordingly, the appeal must be denied as a matter of law. See Sabonis v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 426, 430 (1994). MICHAEL MARTIN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board S. A. Prinsen 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.