Citation Nr: 21075158 Decision Date: 12/17/21 Archive Date: 12/17/21 DOCKET NO. 17-45 199 DATE: December 17, 2021 ORDER The Appellant's claim for accrued benefits was timely; the appeal is granted to this extent only. REMANDED Entitlement to accrued benefits is remanded. FINDING OF FACT VA Form 21-22, Appointment of Veterans Service Organization (VSO), and the Appellant's application for accrued benefits were completed and signed on April 11, 2016, within the year following the Veteran's death; the Appellant had an expectation that her claim would be submitted by her VSO representative to the Regional Office (RO) by the one-year statutory filing deadline. CONCLUSION OF LAW The Appellant's claim for entitlement to accrued benefits was timely filed. 38 U.S.C. § 5121; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.1000. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active service from October 1941 to September 1945. He died in April 2015. The Appellant is his daughter. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a January 2017 decision denying entitlement to accrued benefits. The Appellant presented testimony before the Board in September 2021. Timeliness of the claim Applications for accrued benefits must be filed within one year after the date of death. 38 U.S.C. § 5121(c). The Veteran passed away in April 2015. The Appellant later filed a claim for accrued benefits. The claim was faxed to the RO by the Appellant's representative J.B. on July 22, 2016. Because this was more than one year after the Veteran's death, the Appellant's claim was denied. Examination of the claim form shows that Appellant's signature on the form is dated April 11, 2016. The Appellant also completed VA Form 21-22 on April 11, 2016. The name of the representative was listed as T.R. In the Appellant's notice of disagreement and sworn testimony before the Board, she indicated that on April 11, 2016, she went to the VSO seeking assistance with preparing her accrued benefits claim. She stated that she was helped by T.R., completed the application at the appointment and was told by T.R. that she would submit the claim. The Appellant then indicated that after repeated attempts to verify the status of her claim she was informed that her claim had not been filed and/or received. She then went back to the VSO, was assisted by J.B. and the claim was faxed to the RO on July 22, 2016. The Appellant maintains that the error in submission was not her fault. The Board finds the Appellant has provided credible statements and hearing testimony concerning the details surrounding the April 2016 application for accrued benefits. Those statements and testimony from the Appellant indicate that she clearly intended, and in fact did, "file" (at least constructively) an application for accrued benefits in this case in a timely manner, albeit through another authorized personnel. She has essentially indicated that she provided the April 2016 application to T.R., a VSO representative with the understanding that the application would be filed on her behalf in pursuit of the claim. As noted above, the VA 21-22 and application for accrued benefits signed on April 11, 2016, support the Appellant's assertions. Thus, it appears, through no fault of her own, that the claim was not filed, and that the Appellant did not discover that fact until the one-year deadline had passed. Based on the foregoing, the Board finds that the Appellant "submitted" her application for accrued benefits within the statutory filing deadline. Consequently, the claim for accrued benefits at issue in this case, when resolving doubt in the Appellant's favor, is timely. REASONS FOR REMAND Entitlement to accrued benefits is remanded. As noted above, the claim for accrued benefits was denied because the RO determined that the claim was not timely. As the Board has determined the claim to be timely, remand is required for the RO to adjudicate the claim on the merits, to avoid prejudice to the Appellant. Bernard v. Brown, 4 Vet. App. 384, 394 (1993). The extent to which the Appellant is legally entitled to accrued benefits and the amount of any such benefits have not yet been considered by the AOJ. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: Adjudicate the Appellant's claim for entitlement to accrued benefits on the merits. If any benefit sought is not granted to the Appellant's satisfaction, a supplemental statement of the case must be provided. After the Appellant has had an adequate opportunity to respond, the appeal should be returned to the Board for appellate review. John J. Crowley Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board K. L. Wallin, 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.