Citation Nr: A21017777 Decision Date: 11/03/21 Archive Date: 11/03/21 DOCKET NO. 210820-183797 DATE: November 3, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to a nonservice-connected burial allowance is denied. Entitlement to a plot or interment allowance is denied. Entitlement to reimbursement of burial transportation expenses is denied. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran was not receiving any VA compensation or pension benefits at the time of his death. 2. There was no original or reopened claim for VA compensation or pending benefits pending at the time of the Veteran's death which was ultimately granted. 3. The Veteran was not discharged from service due to a disability incurred or aggravated in the line of duty. 4. The Veteran's body was not unclaimed, and the appellant incurred expenses related to the Veteran's burial. 5. The Veteran did not die while admitted to a VA facility for hospital, nursing home, or domiciliary care, or while admitted or traveling to a non-VA facility at VA expense for the purpose of examination, treatment, or care. 6. The Veteran was not buried at a national cemetery. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria have not been met for entitlement to a burial allowance based on a nonservice-connected death. 38 U.S.C. §§ 2302, 2303; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.1700-3.1713. 2. The criteria have not been met for entitlement to a burial plot or interment allowance. 38 U.S.C. §§ 2302, 2303; 38 C.F.R. § 3.1707. 3. The criteria have not been met for reimbursement of burial transportation expenses. 38 U.S.C. §§ 2302, 2303; 38 C.F.R. § 3.1709. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served in the Special Philippine Scouts from September 1946 to April 1949. He died in August 2018. The appellant is the Veteran's surviving son who incurred expenses related to the Veteran's burial. This matter is before the Board on appeal from an August 2020 administrative decision. 1. Entitlement to a nonservice-connected burial allowance is denied. In the claim submitted, the appellant expressly stated that he was not claiming that the Veteran's death was related to his military service. Therefore, the Board will consider the claim as one for nonservice-connected burial benefits. Where a veteran's death is not service connected, a burial allowance to assist in paying the burial and funeral expenses may be payable, but only under certain circumstances. 38 U.S.C. § 2302(a); 38 C.F.R. § 3.1705. Specifically, if the cause of a veteran's death is not service connected, entitlement is based upon the following conditions: at the time of death, the Veteran was in receipt of pension or compensation (or but for the receipt of military retirement pay would have been in receipt of compensation); or, the Veteran had an original claim for either benefit pending at the time of their death for which there was evidence available on the date of death to support the award for compensation or pension or, in the case of a reopened claim, there was sufficient prima facie evidence of record on the date of death to show entitlement; or, the deceased was a Veteran of any war or was discharged or released from active military, naval, or air service for a disability incurred or aggravated in line of duty, and there is no next of kin and the Veteran's estate funds are insufficient to cover expenses. See 38 U.S.C. § 2302(a); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.1705(b), (e); 3.1708(b), (c). Alternatively, a burial allowance may be paid if a Veteran died from nonservice-connected causes while properly admitted to a VA facility for hospital, nursing home, or domiciliary care; or while admitted or traveling to a non-VA facility with prior authorization and at VA expense for the purpose of examination, treatment, or care. See 38 U.S.C. § 2303(a); 38 C.F.R. § 3.1706(b), (d). In this case, at the time of the Veteran's death, the Veteran was not receiving any VA compensation or pension benefits, and the evidence does not reflect that there was an original or reopened claim for either benefit pending which was ultimately granted. Additionally, the Veteran is not shown to have been discharged or released from active service for a disability incurred or aggravated in the line of duty, nor was his body unclaimed. Finally, it is uncontroverted that the Veteran died at a local community hospital. The appellant has not asserted nor does the record show that this was a VA Medical Center, a state veterans home, or a nursing home under VA contract. See Application for Burial Benefits, August 2020. The Board acknowledges the appellant's August 2021 statement that the Veteran had recognized World War II service and that prior claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus should have been granted during the Veteran's lifetime, such that he would have been receiving compensation at the time of his death. However, that claim of service connection was denied by an August 2018 rating decision just before the Veteran's death, and that decision was not appealed and has become final. The matter of service connection asserted by the appellant is beyond the scope of the present appeal. Because none of the potential eligibility criteria are met for a nonservice-connected burial allowance, the claim must be denied. 2. Entitlement to a plot or interment allowance is denied. For the purposes of this determination, the term "plot" or burial plot means the final disposal site of the deceased's bodily remains, whether it is a grave, mausoleum vault, columbarium niche, or other similar place. Plot or interment expenses are those expenses associated with the final disposition of the remains and are not confined to the acts done within the burial grounds but may include the removal of remains for burial or interment. 38 C.F.R. § 3.1707(d). Where a Veteran's death is not service-connected, a plot allowance to cover the cost of the final site of interment of the Veteran's remains may be payable, but only under certain circumstances. 38 U.S.C. § 2303(a); 38 C.F.R. § 3.1707. Unless VA has evidence on the date it receives notice of the veteran's death that the expenses incurred were less, VA will pay the maximum plot or interment allowance specified in 38 U.S.C. § 2303(b)(2) to a claimant who incurred plot or interment expenses relating to the purchase of a burial plot for a deceased veteran if the veteran is buried in a cemetery other than a State veterans cemetery or a national cemetery, and the veteran is eligible for a burial allowance under § 3.1705, burial allowance based on non-service-connected death; the veteran is eligible for a burial allowance under § 3.1706, burial allowance for a veteran who died while hospitalized by VA; the veteran was discharged from active service for a disability incurred or aggravated in line of duty; or the veteran, at the time of discharge from active service, had a disability, shown by official service records, which in medical judgment would have justified a discharge for disability. As above, none of those criteria are met here. The Veteran is not eligible for a burial allowance based on a nonservice-connected death. He is not eligible for a burial allowance for a veteran who died while hospitalized by VA. He was not discharged for a disability incurred or aggravated in the line of duty, nor shown by official service records to have had a disability at the time of his discharge that would have justified a discharge for disability. Because none of the potential eligibility criteria are met for a plot or interment allowance, the claim must be denied. 3. Entitlement to reimbursement of burial transportation expenses is denied. For reimbursement of transportation expenses under 38 C.F.R. § 3.1709, VA will reimburse the costs of transportation only where a veteran was buried in a national cemetery. Under 38 C.F.R. § 3.1706(d), VA may also reimburse the costs of transporting the remains of a person who died while hospitalized by VA. Here, the Veteran did not die while hospitalized by VA and his remains were buried in a cemetery other than a national cemetery. Reimbursement of burial transportation expenses is not available. David Gratz Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board K. McDonald, 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.