Citation Nr: 21025550
Decision Date: 04/28/21	Archive Date: 04/28/21

DOCKET NO. 13-18 591
DATE: April 28, 2021

ORDER

Entitlement to burial allowance is DISMISSED.

FINDING OF FACT

The appellant did not submit a timely VA Form 9 after receiving the January 2021 Statement of the Case.   

CONCLUSION OF LAW

The criteria for dismissal of a claim for entitlement to burial allowance have been met.  38 U.S.C. § 7105; 38 C.F.R. §§ 19.22, 19.32. 

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION

The Veteran served honorably in the United States Army from February 1951 to May 1961.  In March 2011, the Veteran passed away.  The Appellant is the Veteran’s surviving spouse. The matter is on appeal from an October 2011 rating decision. The appeal originally included the issue of entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death; however, the Board issued a final decision on that issue in in December 2020.

Entitlement to burial allowance(s) is dismissed. 

The Board remanded the issue of entitlement to burial benefits in August 2014 and September 2017 for the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) to issue a Statement of the Case (SOC). In a December 2017 letter, the AOJ awarded non-service-connected burial benefits for reimbursement for funeral and burial expenses but denied entitlement to plot allowance. The appeal returned to the Board and the Board again remanded the issue for issuance of an SOC. 

In January 2021, the AOJ issued an SOC denying entitlement to plot allowance and transportation. The Appellant was supplied a VA Form 9 and notified that it must be filed within 60 days to perfect the appeal. 

For the Board to have jurisdiction over an appeal, a timely VA Form 9 (Substantive Appeal) must be filed after the issuance of an SOC. 38 C.F.R. §§ 19.22, 19.32. After review of the claims file, the Board observes that the neither the Appellant nor her representative submitted a VA Form 9 following the January 2021 SOC. 

As a substantive appeal was not filed within 60 days of the January 2021 SOC, the Board does not have jurisdiction over the issue of entitlement to burial allowance. 

 

Marissa Caylor

Acting Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	RLBJ, 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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.