Citation Nr: 22011697
Decision Date: 03/01/22	Archive Date: 03/01/22

DOCKET NO. 16-40 749A
DATE: March 1, 2022

ORDER

The issue of entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is dismissed.

FINDING OF FACT

In February 2022, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) was notified that the Appellant died in March 2018, as verified by the Social Security Administration (SSA). 

CONCLUSION OF LAW

Due to the death of the Appellant, the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of this appeal at this time. 38 U.S.C. § 7104(a); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302.

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION

The Veteran served on active duty from August 1968 to February 1972. This matter comes before the Board on appeal from a December 2015 rating decision issued by a VA Regional Office. In her August 2016 substantive appeal (VA Form 9), the Appellant, who was the Veteran's spouse, requested a Board hearing before a Veterans Law Judge; however, she died prior to the scheduled hearing.

Entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death.  

Unfortunately, the Appellant died during the pendency of the appeal. Specifically, as noted previously, in February 2022, VA was notified that she died in March 2018, as verified by SSA. As a matter of law, appellants' claims do not survive their deaths. 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). Therefore, this appeal must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. 38 U.S.C. § 7104(a); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302.

There are, however, provisions in place to allow for an eligible person to take the Appellant's place in her appeal in order to get a final decision. This process is called substitution. The request to be substituted must be filed within one year of the Appellant's death. 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(b). To file a request for substitution, you may use VA Form 21P-0847, "Request for Substitution of Claimant Upon Death of Claimant," which can be found online here: https://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/ VBA-21P-0847-ARE.pdf. 

The completed form may be submitted electronically via ACCESSVA.  The web address for ACCESSVA is https://eauth.va.gov/accessva/?cspSelectFor=dmhs.  Alternatively, you may mail the completed form to:

Department of Veterans Affairs

Pension Intake Center

PO Box 5365

Janesville, WI 53547-5365

You may also submit the form directly to your nearest VA regional office.  To find a VA regional office nearest you go to https://www.va.gov/find-locations/?facilityType=benefits.

Please note that only certain persons are eligible for substitution.  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; 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(a).  There is a helpful factsheet that explains who is eligible for accrued benefits here: https://benefits.va.gov/BENEFITS/factsheets/ general/Accrued.pdf

 

 

B.T. KNOPE

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	Spielmann, Jill F.