Citation Nr: A21019547
Decision Date: 12/07/21	Archive Date: 12/07/21

DOCKET NO. 200521-87739
DATE: December 7, 2021

ORDER

Entitlement to service connection for the cause of death of the Veteran is dismissed.

Entitlement to Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) benefits pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 1318 is dismissed.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. The Appellant was the Veteran's surviving spouse.     

2. The Appellant passed away in June 2021.     

CONCLUSION OF LAW

The Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of the appeal of entitlement to service connection for the cause of death of the Veteran or to DIC benefits pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 1318.  38 U.S.C. § 7104(a); 38 C.F.R. 20.1302.       

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION

The Veteran served on active duty from July 1970 to February 1974.  He passed away in November 2019.  

In this case, the Appellant was the Veteran's surviving spouse.  Unfortunately, she passed away during the pendency of the appeal.  As a matter of law, Appellants' claims do not survive their deaths.  Zevalkink v. Brown, 102 F.3d 1236, 1243-44 (Fed. Cir. 1996); Smith v. Brown, 10 Vet. App. 330, 333-34 (1997); Landicho v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 42, 47 (1994).  

This appeal has become moot by virtue of the Appellant's death and must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.  38 U.S.C. § 7104(a); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302.  This dismissal 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.  An eligible party seeking substitution ("a living person who would be eligible to receive accrued benefits due to the claimant under section 5121(a) of this title...") should file a request for substitution with the VA office from which the claim originated, no later than one year after the Appellant's date of death.  38 U.S.C. § 5121A; 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010.

 

 

A. C. MACKENZIE

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	Evans, A-L

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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.