Citation Nr: 21012496
Decision Date: 03/04/21	Archive Date: 03/04/21

DOCKET NO. 19-08 960
DATE: March 4, 2021

ORDER

Entitlement to special monthly compensation based on aid and attendance/housebound is dismissed.

FINDING OF FACT

The Veteran died in February 2021, while the present appeal was pending.  

CONCLUSION OF LAW

Due to the death of the Veteran, the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of this appeal at this time.  38 U.S.C. § 7104 (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302 (2019).

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION

The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Air Force from January 1967 to August 1970. 

This matter comes to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a June 2016 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).

Unfortunately, the Veteran passed away in February 2021, while the present appeal was pending.  As a matter of law, appellants’ claims do not survive their deaths.  See 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 on the merits has become moot by virtue of the death of the Veteran and must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.  See 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302. 

In reaching this determination, the Board intimates no opinion as to the merits of this appeal or any derivative claim brought by a survivor of the Veteran.  See 38 C.F.R. § 20.1106.

The Board’s dismissal of this appeal 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.  Such request must be filed not later than one year after the date of the Veteran’s death.  See 38 U.S.C. § 5121A; 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(b); 79 Fed. Reg. 52,977, 52,982.  A person eligible for substitution includes “a living person who would be eligible to receive accrued benefits due to the claimant under section 5121(a) of this title….”  38 U.S.C. § 5121A; see 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(a).  An eligible party seeking substitution in an appeal that has been dismissed by the Board due to the death of the claimant should file a request for substitution with the VA office from which the claim originated.  See 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(b).

 

 

M. Donohue

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	D.S. Chilcote, Associate 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.