Citation Nr: 21029146 Decision Date: 05/12/21 Archive Date: 05/12/21 DOCKET NO. 18-51 836 DATE: May 12, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to recognition of the Veteran's parents, D.S. and J.S., as dependents is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. Since May 1992, the Veteran has been in receipt of at least a combined 30 percent rating for his service-connected disabilities. 2. D.S. and J.S. are the biological mother and father of the Veteran. 3. While D.S. and J.S.'s income exceeded $660 per month during the claim period, the evidence of record indicates they did not have sufficient income to provide themselves reasonable maintenance. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to recognition of the D.S. and J.S. as the dependent parents of the Veteran are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 102, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.250, 3.261, 3.262, 3.263. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from November 1985 to March 1988. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal of a September 2015 decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). Jurisdiction of the Veteran's claims file currently resides with the Salt Lake City, Utah RO. In his November 2018 substantive appeal, the Veteran requested a Board hearing in Washington, D.C. One was scheduled for the Veteran in March 2020, but he did not appear. His hearing request is thus deemed withdrawn. Dependency If a veteran is entitled to compensation based on disability evaluated as 30 percent or more disabling, an additional amount of compensation may be payable for a spouse, child, and/or dependent parent. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.4(b). As indicated above in the Findings of Fact section, the Veteran has been in receipt of at least a 30 percent combined disability rating since May 1992. As such, the Board finds that the 30 percent eligibility threshold established by 38 C.F.R. § 3.4(b) is satisfied. Moving beyond this initial threshold determination, the Board first notes that D.S. and J.S.the natural mother and father of the Veteranlive together with the Veteran in the Veteran's home. See June 2015 VA Form 27-0820 Report of General Information. 38 C.F.R. § 3.250(a)(1)(ii) provides that conclusive dependency of parents will be held to exist for a mother and father living together when the parents' monthly income does not exceed $660. If monthly income exceeds $660, dependency may still be established, based on the facts in the individual case, if the parents in question do not have an income sufficient to provide reasonable maintenance for themselves and members of their family under legal age and for dependent adult members of the family if the dependency of such adult member results from mental or physical incapacity. 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.250(a)(2), 3.250(b). 38 C.F.R. § 3.250(b)(1) defines "reasonable maintenance" to include "not only housing, food, clothing, and medical care sufficient to sustain life, but such items beyond the bare necessities as well as other requirements reasonably necessary to provide those conveniences and comforts of living suitable to and consistent with the parents' reasonable mode of life." Applying these principles in the instant case, the Board first finds that D.S. and J.S.'s income exceeded $660 per month during the claim period. Specifically, as the Veteran reported in a VA Form 21-509, Statement of Dependency of Parents, submitted in July 2014, D.S. receives $1,311.81 per month and J.S. receives $966 per month in income. Combined, D.S. and J.S. receive a total of $2,277.81 per month, exceeding the $660 limit provided in 38 C.F.R. § 3.250(a)(1)(ii). As such, entitlement to conclusive dependency is not warranted in this case and the only avenue to add the Veteran's parents as dependents to his compensation award would be pursuant to the "basic rule" described in 38 C.F.R. § 3.250(b). In the same VA Form 21-509 received in July 2014, the Veteran indicated the following monthly expenses for his parents: $78 for Medicare; $255 for other medical insurance; $1,000 for doctor and dental expenses; $64 for cell phone service; $357.96 for a car payment; $139.26 for auto insurance; $100 for gasoline; and $200 for clothing. These reported expenses totaled $2,194.22. Subtracting these total monthly expenses from the total monthly income of $2,277.81 results in a total of $83.59 in remaining income for D.S. and J.S. per month. However, in June 2015, D.S. spoke with a VA employee and provided VA with updated expenses both she and J.S. incurred per month. See June 2015 VA Form 27-0820. Specifically, D.S. indicated that their car payment was actually now $508.10 per month and that their auto insurance was now $122 per month. Id. Additionally, D.S. stated that she and J.S. spent about $100 on groceries per month. Id. Lastly, D.S. confirmed that the other monthly expenses reported in July 2014 were still accurate. Id. Using these adjusted figures from June 2015 results in a total of $2,427.10 in monthly expenses for D.S. and J.S. Subtracting this new expense figure from the $2,277.81 monthly income figure results in -$149.49i.e., their monthly expenses exceeded their monthly income by $149.29. In light of the aboveand resolving all reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favorthe Board concludes that D.S. and J.S. do not have income sufficient to provide reasonable maintenance for themselves. Accordingly, the Board finds that entitlement to recognizing D.S. and J.S. as his dependent parents is warranted in the instant case pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 3.250(b). Thus, the Board grants the Veteran's claim. S.C. KREMBS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board N.S. Pettine, 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.