Citation Nr: 21072754 Decision Date: 12/06/21 Archive Date: 12/06/21 DOCKET NO. 18-22 330 DATE: December 6, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to an effective date of December 7, 2011, for recognition of the Veteran's spouse and minor child for the purpose of additional dependency compensation, is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. During the processing of a claim for service connection for a psychiatric disability that was ultimately granted and in which the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) assigned a 30 percent initial disability rating effective December 7, 2011, the Veteran provided VA on July 24, 2013, information regarding the names of her dependent son and spouse as well as the date and place of her marriage and the date and place of birth of her son. 2. She was notified on July 25, 2013, that she was granted an initial disability rating of at least 30 percent and was potentially entitled to additional dependency compensation. 3. In the July 2013 notification letter, VA asked the Veteran to complete a VA Form 21-686c (Declaration of Status of Dependents) but did not specifically ask for the social security numbers of her son and husband. 4. The Veteran subsequently submitted the required social security numbers for her dependents in an August 2014 VA Form 21-686c. CONCLUSION OF LAW As the Veteran's claim for additional dependency compensation has remained pending since July 24, 2013, the criteria for an effective date of December 7, 2011, have been met for recognition of the Veteran's spouse and minor child for the purpose of additional dependency compensation. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1115, 5101(c); 38 C.F.R. § 3.57, 3.401(b). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served honorably in the United States Army from August 1984 to June 1987 and from February 2003 to January 2004. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from an August 2014 administrative decision that added the Veteran's spouse and child to her award as dependents and consequently granted additional dependency compensation effective August 14, 2014. The Veteran submitted a notice of disagreement to the effective date of this award in May 2015 and perfected her appeal to the Board by submitting an April 2018 VA Form 9. Pursuant to her election in the substantive appeal, the Veteran appeared and testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge at a hearing conducted in August 2021. A transcript of the hearing is included in the claims file. Entitlement to an earlier effective date for adding the Veteran's dependent spouse and child to her award The Veteran seeks an effective date for her award of additional dependency compensation for her spouse and minor that coincides with the date she was first awarded a 30 percent disability rating. As noted above, VA has already added each of these individuals to the Veteran's award effective August 2014. This benefit is available to veterans who are entitled to disability compensation whose disability is rated not less than 30 percent. See 38 U.S.C. § 1115; 38 C.F.R. § 3.4(b)(2). The Veteran was notified that she was awarded this qualifying disability rating in July 2013, at which time her claim for service connection for a psychiatric disability was granted and she was assigned an initial 30 percent disability rating. Just before a VA Regional Office implemented the grant, a report of telephonic contact appears in the record which confirms that the Veteran discussed her dependency information with a VA employee. This conversation was memorialized in her claims file pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 3.217. At the hearing, the Veteran provided additional information regarding the precise information provided to VA in that telephone call. She explained that she provided all relevant information (i.e., names, date of marriage/birth, and place of marriage/birth) but stated that because she was at work, she did not have her dependents' social security numbers available. The Veteran testified further that she attempted to call the following day to provide this information but was unable to connect with the VA employee. Although the Veteran previously submitted somewhat differing statements regarding when she submitted dependency information, the Board found the Veteran to be entirely credible in her reports of what was said in the July 2014 telephone conversation that has been clearly documented in the record. As such, the Board finds that she submitted evidence of the names of both her husband and child as well as the date of her marriage and the date of her minor son's birth within a year of receiving notice of her at least 30 percent combined disability rating. For additional dependency compensation, VA's regulations require a claimant to submit proof of marriage and birth of a child. 38 C.F.R. § 3.204(a)(1). Moreover, an uncontradicted statement of a claimant regarding the occurrence of a marriage or a birth of a child is all that is required for veterans residing in the United States if the statement includes the month and year of the event, the full name of the claimed dependent, and the place of the event (e.g., the date of birth or the date of the marriage). Id. The proper effective dates for additional dependency compensation on the basis of marriage or birth of a minor child is set forth at 38 C.F.R. § 3.401(b) and states the effective date will be the last of the following dates provided that sufficient evidence is received: (1) the date of claim; (2) the date the dependency arises; (3) the effective date of the qualifying disability rating; or (4) the date of commencement of the veteran's award. 38 C.F.R. § 3.401(b). As explained above, the Board now finds that the appellant provided sufficient notice of her spouse and minor child within a year of the July 2014 notification letter. As such, it appears that her claim for an effective date is meritorious, and the proper date is the effective date of the underlying rating decision that granted at least a 30 percent disability rating effective December 7, 2011. However, the Board recognizes and the Veteran has acknowledged that she did not at the time of that rating decision have access to the social security numbers of her husband and child. VA's regulations require a claimant to disclose a beneficiary's social security number "upon request" of VA. 38 C.F.R. § 3.216. The claims file includes the notification letter that asked the Veteran to compete a VA Form 21-686c. Critically, the notification letter did not clarify that the only information remaining that VA required to provide benefits for her spouse and child was the social security numbers. As such, the Board does not find that VA made the request for those numbers pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 3.216. As no request was made and the other necessary information pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 3.204(a) were provided regarding her husband and son, the Board finds that that claim for additional dependency compensation remained pending. She subsequently provided the requisite social security numbers. The Board therefore finds that the criteria for an effective date of December 7, 2011, for recognition of the Veteran's husband and son have been met and the appeal is granted. LAURA E. COLLINS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board B. Whitelaw, 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.