Citation Nr: 21012179 Decision Date: 03/03/21 Archive Date: 03/03/21 DOCKET NO. 18-27 123 DATE: March 3, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to additional accrued benefits in the amount $1,380.00 for reimbursement of the expense of last sickness and burial is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The appellant has been reimbursed for identified funeral and burial expenses in the amount of $9,845.16. 2. The appellant identified an additional total of $1,380.00 that she paid for the expense of the Veteran’s last sickness. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to additional accrued benefits in the amount $1,380.00 for reimbursement of the expense of last sickness and burial have been met. 38 U.S.C. § 5121; 38 C.F.R. § 3.1000. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The record shows that the Veteran was awarded entitlement to an aid and attendance allowance effective May 6, 2011 pursuant to a June 2013 rating decision. However, further clarification on his income and net worth was needed at that time prior to determining his entitlement. The Veteran died in April 2016 prior to disbursement of the award. The appellant is his adult daughter. The controlling law with respect to accrued VA benefits provides that accrued benefits are only paid to certain recipients rather than to the payee’s estate. In this case, only so much of the accrued benefit may be paid as necessary to reimburse the person who bore the expense of the last sickness and burial. See 38 U.S.C. § 5121; 38 C.F.R. § 3.1000. The Board denied the appeal for additional accrued benefits in excess of $8,351.16 in July 2019. In September 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court) granted a Joint Motion for Partial Remand, and remanded the appeal for additional accrued benefits to the Board for consideration of expenses itemized in the appellant’s September 2016 VA Form 21-534EZ, and to address the appellant’s claims that she provided daily, round the clock care for the Veteran for a little over two years. The appeal is once again before the Board. Entitlement to additional accrued benefits for reimbursement of the expense of last sickness and burial benefits. Periodic monetary benefits under laws administered by VA, to which a payee was entitled at his or her death under existing ratings or decisions or those based on evidence in the file at date of death and due and unpaid, will, upon the death of such person, be paid as follows: In pertinent part, upon the death of a Veteran, to his or her spouse; then to his or her children. 38 U.S.C. § 5121; 38 C.F.R. § 3.1000 (a), (1). While the appellant is the Veteran’s adult daughter, for purpose of determining eligibility for payment, a “child” of the veteran must be unmarried and must be either under the age of 18, have become permanently incapable of self- support before the age of 18, or be between the ages of 18 and 23 and pursuing a course of instruction at an approved educational institution. 38 U.S.C. § 101 (4)(A)(ii); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.57 (a)(1), 3.1000(d)(2). Here, permanent incapacity for self-support for the appellant was denied in the July 2019 Board decision, and that portion of the decision was not subject to the September 2020 Court remand and Joint Motion for Partial Remand. The controlling law with respect to accrued VA benefits provides that accrued benefits are only paid to certain recipients rather than to the payee’s estate. In all other cases, only so much of the accrued benefit may be paid as necessary to reimburse the person who bore the expense of the last sickness and burial. See 38 U.S.C. § 5121; 38 C.F.R. § 3.1000. Therefore, the appellant is only entitled to so much of the available accrued benefit as necessary to reimburse the amounts that she paid toward the Veteran’s last sickness and burial. The Board finds that the appellant bore the expenses of the Veteran’s burial in the amount of $9,845.16, which is the total amount of funeral and burial expenses. While the appellant identified spending $10,025.00 on burial and funeral costs in her October 2016 Application for Pension, she had previously submitted an April 2016 Application for Burial benefits, identifying a total of $9,845.16 for funeral and burial expenses along with a with an itemized bill from the funeral home for the same total amount. The appellant did not explain the difference between the $10,025.00 identified in October 2016 and the April 2016 amount shown on the funeral home billing statement. Therefore, the Board finds that the statement reporting $9,845.16 paid for funeral and burial expenses is more probative than the statement identifying $10,025.00, as the first amount has been verified by a billing statement, and the later amount was identified without further explanation or supporting verification. The appellant was awarded $1,494.00 for burial and plot costs pursuant to an August 2016 decision and subsequently, in a May 2017 a decision, the appellant awarded accrued benefits for the remaining amount if identified, unreimbursed burial expenses of $8,351.16 for a total of $9,845.16. Thus, there remains no further identified burial costs which have not been reimbursed. In September 2020 Joint Motion for Partial Remand provides that the Board must consider expenses itemized in the appellant’s September 2016 VA Form 21-534EZ, and address the appellant’s claims that she provided daily, round the clock care for the Veteran for a little over two years. The Board finds that the appellant identified expenses related to the Veteran’s last sickness in her October 2016 Application for Pension. She reported that she paid $1,100.00 for a wheelchair, $30.00 for two wheelchair arms, and $250.00 (10 each at $25.00) for medical travel. She reported that the Veteran required 24-hour care, including help with activities of daily living such as bathing and showering. In an October 2016 statement, she reported that she provided daily care for the Veteran for a little over two years, including bathing him, shaving him, feeding him, and providing transportation to doctor’s appointments. The Board finds that the itemized costs provided by the appellant in the amount of $1,380.00 are related to the Veteran’s last sickness, and as such, the appellant may be reimbursed for those costs. (Continued on the next page)   Outside of the amounts delineated in the October 2016 Application for Pension, the appellant has not identified additional expenses of last sickness which were paid by her. While she provided statements indicating that she provided care for the Veteran, she did not provide evidence showing that she paid for any additional costs related to his care. In an August 2017 statement, while the appellant reiterated that she provided daily care for the Veteran, she failed to identify, itemize, or provide evidence of any specific expenditures born by her in the course of her care for the Veteran. She indicated only that she and the Veteran shared bills, and in that regard, she “was more dependent on him.” Despite the appellant’s care for the Veteran, to include assistance with activities of daily living, the Board emphasizes that the law allows payment of only so much of the accrued benefit as necessary to “reimburse” the person who bore the expense of the last sickness and burial. 38 U.S.C. § 5121; 38 C.F.R. § 3.1000. Thus, the appellant is not entitled to an award of all available accrued benefits, unless it is made specifically for the reimbursement of specific qualifying and unreimbursed expenses which are shown to have been paid for her. Accordingly, the Board finds that entitlement to additional accrued benefits in the amount of $1,380.00, but no more, for reimbursement of the expense of last sickness and burial is granted. K. Parakkal Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Christine C. Kung 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.