Citation Nr: 21007666 Decision Date: 02/10/21 Archive Date: 02/10/21 DOCKET NO. 13-04 849 DATE: February 10, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to retroactive dependency allowance for the period from December 1, 2008, to December 1, 2009, is dismissed. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. Following development conducted pursuant to an October 2017 legacy Board remand, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) issued a Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC) on November 10, 2020, continuing the denial of entitlement to retroactive dependency allowance for the period from December 1, 2008, to December 1, 2009. 2. On January 4, 2021, the Veteran requested to opt-in to the modernized appeals process under the Appeals Modernization Act (AMA) by filing a VA Form 20-0995 Supplemental Claim. 3. As the Veteran’s opt-in to the AMA with a request for a Supplemental Claim was timely filed, the Veteran’s legacy appeal is withdrawn. CONCLUSION OF LAW The Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) does not have jurisdiction to adjudicate the issue currently on appeal, given that the Veteran requested to opt-in to the AMA by filing a VA Form 20-0995 Supplemental Claim, and it is therefore dismissed. 38 U.S.C. § 7104; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.2400, 3.2500, 19.52, 20.104, 20.202, 20.203. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from July1986 to November 1986 and from June 1987 to September 1992. The Board notes that the appeal initially came before the Board under the legacy appeal system. The Veteran presented testimony before the Board in May 2017. In October 2017, the Board remanded the claim and instructed the RO to provide a proper audit detailing the actual amount of benefits paid each month and the breakdown of the amount for the Veteran and the number of dependents, including when the children were added and removed from the award. Subsequently, after completing the requested development, the RO issued a SSOC on November 10, 2020. In January 2021, the Veteran filed a VA Form 20-0995 Supplemental Claim Application expressing his disagreement with November 10, 2020, SSOC denial of entitlement to retroactive dependency allowance for the period December 1, 2008, to December 1, 2009. A few days later that month, the RO acknowledged the supplemental claim and requested that the Veteran clarify if he is requesting an earlier effective date for dependency benefits or an increase for the right ankle fracture. An AMA appeal comes before the Board in one of three ways: (i) an appeal of a Rapid Appeals Modernization Program (RAMP) rating decision; (ii) an appeal of a rating decision with a notification letter dated on or after February 19, 2019; or (iii) an appeal of a statement of the case (SOC) or supplemental statement of the case (SSOC) issued on or after February 19, 2019. 38 C.F.R. § 19.2(d); 38 C.F.R. § 3.2400. Under the AMA, there are three review lanes: Higher-Level Review (HLR), Supplemental Claim, and Board Appeal. If a request for review under one of these three lanes is pending final adjudication, a claimant may not file a request for review under a different lane without first withdrawing the pending review request. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.2500(b); see also 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.2500(d), (e), 20.205. The selection of concurrent review mechanisms is prohibited by applicable regulations. 38 C.F.R. § 3.2500 (“[A] claimant who has filed for review under one of the options available under paragraph (a) of this section may not, while that review is pending final adjudication, file for review under a different available option.”) Here, the Veteran filed his supplemental claim in January 2021 following the issuance of the November 2020 SSOC. The Board notes that the “Check this box if any issue listed below is being withdrawn from the legacy appeals process: Opt-In from SOC/SSOC” field on the AMA form was not selected and the Veteran’s representative submitted a January 2021 informal hearing presentation. However, in the January 2021 VA Form 20-0995 Supplemental Claim Application, the Veteran specifically indicated disagreement with the November 10, 2020, VA decision, i.e., the November 10, 2020, SSOC, and the Veteran appears to argue that his dependency benefits should be granted from when he was rated at 30 percent or when he filed his claim for a right ankle fracture. The RO acknowledged the January 2021 supplemental claim and is currently developing the supplemental claim for entitlement to retroactive dependency allowance for the period December 1, 2008, to December 1, 2009. Thus, as the Veteran filed a timely VA Form 20-0995 Supplemental Claim in January 2020 in response to the November 2020, SSOC, and as result opted in to the AMA system, he effectively withdrew his legacy appeal as to the issue previously on appeal in the legacy system of entitlement to retroactive dependency allowance for the period December 1, 2008, to December 1, 2009. Therefore, the Board does not have jurisdiction to address the issue on appeal, and the claim is dismissed. See 38 U.S.C. § 7104(a); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302. A. P. SIMPSON Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Sarah Campbell, 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.