Citation Nr: A21019588 Decision Date: 12/08/21 Archive Date: 12/08/21 DOCKET NO. 211008-191067 DATE: December 8, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to aid and attendance or housebound allowance for Veteran's spouse is denied. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran is living and is not service-connected for any disability for compensation purposes. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to aid and attendance or housebound allowance for Veteran's spouse have not been met. 38 U.S.C. § 1115; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.351, 3.352. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active service from October 1963 to September 1965. 1. Entitlement to aid and attendance or housebound allowance for Veteran's spouse is denied. The Veteran is seeking entitlement to Special Monthly Compensation (SMC) based on aid and attendance or housebound status for his spouse. The Veteran claimed that his wife was temporarily disabled due to back surgery requiring regular aid and attendance or was housebound. After a thorough review of the evidence of record, the Board finds that entitlement to SMC due to aid and attendance or housebound status for the Veteran's spouse is not warranted. The Veteran submitted a VA Form 21-0995 supplemental claim for aid and attendance or housebound status in July 2021. The Board notes that the Veteran checked the boxes for both compensation and survivor/pension benefits, despite the instruction directing to check only one box, and that to file for more than one type of benefit requires individual form for each benefit claimed. In an August 2021 phone call, the Veteran explained that he was seeking SMC based on aid and attendance for his spouse. In a September 2021 rating decision, the RO denied entitlement to aid and attendance allowance for the Veteran's spouse. The favorable finding included that the Veteran's spouse required medication management according to the June 2021 VA Form 21-2680 aid and attendance examination. In the October 2021 VA Form 10182, Decision Review Request: Board Appeal (Notice of Disagreement) (NOD), the appellant elected the Direct Review option; therefore, the Board may only consider the evidence of record at the time of the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) decision on appeal. 38 C.F.R. § 20.301. Increased dependency and indemnity compensation is payable to a surviving spouse in need of aid and attendance or who is housebound. 38 U.S.C. § 1311; 38 C.F.R § 3.351(a)(3-4). Increased pension is payable to a surviving spouse by reason of need for aid and attendance, or if not in need of aid and attendance, by reason of being housebound. 38 C.F.R. § 3.351(a)(5). In the present case, the Veteran is still alive and therefore the spouse is not a surviving spouse. Any veteran who is entitled to disability compensation at the rates provided in 38 U.S.C. § 1114, whose disability is rated not less than 30 percent disabling, and whose spouse is a patient in a nursing home, or helpless or blind, or so nearly helpless or blind as to need or require the regular aid and attendance of another person, is entitled to additional compensation. 38 U.S.C. § 1115. The need for aid and attendance means helplessness as to require the regular aid and attendance of another person. 38 C.F.R. § 3.351(b). In this regard, the Veteran's spouse will be considered in need of regular aid and attendance if he or she (1) is blind or so nearly blind as to have corrected visual acuity of 5/200 or less in both eyes, or concentric contraction of the visual field to 5 degrees or less; or (2) is a patient in a nursing home because of mental or physical incapacity; or (3) establishes a factual need for aid and attendance under the criteria set forth in § 3.352(a). 38 C.F.R. § 3.351(c). In the present case, the Veteran does not receive compensation based on service-connected disabilities. Accordingly, the Veteran is not eligible for special monthly compensation based on aid and attendance needs or housebound status of the Veteran's spouse. Therefore, the appeal for entitlement to special monthly compensation due to need for aid and attendance or housebound status of the Veteran's spouse is denied. DAVID L. WIGHT Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board E. Miller, 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.