Citation Nr: 22013322 Decision Date: 03/09/22 Archive Date: 03/09/22 DOCKET NO. 17-36 872 DATE: March 9, 2022 ORDER Entitlement to an earlier effective date of November 1, 2014, for entitlement to Dependency Indemnity Compensation (DIC) benefits is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. On February 4, 2015, less than one year after the Veteran's passing, VA received the Appellant's Request for Substitution of Claimant Upon Death of Claimant, at which time she was unrepresented. 2. VA did not provide the Appellant notice of how to claim DIC benefits until April 2016. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for an earlier effective date of March 1, 2015, for entitlement to DIC benefits have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.400. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active service from January 1966 to December 1967. Unfortunately, he passed away in November 2014. The Appellant is his widow. In a September 2016 rating decision, service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death was granted, effective August 2016. The Appellant contends she initially sought DIC Benefits in February 2015. Generally, the effective date for an award of compensation or claim for increase is the date of receipt of the claim or date entitlement arose, whichever is later. 38 U.S.C. § 5110 (a); 38 C.F.R. § 3.400 However, for claims involving service-connected death after separation from service, an exception applies. If an application for DIC benefits is received within one year from the date of death, the effective date of the award shall be the first day of the month in which the death occurred. Although a claimant need not identify the benefit sought "with specificity," see Servello v. Derwinski, 3 Vet. App. 196, 199-200 (1992), some intent on the part of the Appellant to seek benefits must be demonstrated. See Brannon v. West, 12 Vet. App. 32, 34-35 (1998). See also Talbert v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 352, 356-7 (1995) (noting that while VA must interpret a claimant's submissions broadly, VA is not required to conjure up issues not raised by claimant). The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has emphasized VA has a duty to fully and sympathetically develop a Veteran's claim to its optimum. Hodge v. West, 155 F.3d 1356, 1362 (Fed. Cir. 1998). This duty requires VA to "determine all potential claims raised by the evidence, applying all relevant laws and regulations," Roberson v. West, 251 F.3d 1378, 1384 (Fed. Cir. 2001), and extends to giving a sympathetic reading to all pro se pleadings of record. Szemraj v. Principi, 357 F.3d 1370, 1373 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Effective March 24, 2015, VA amended its regulations to require that all claims governed by VA's adjudication regulations be filed on a standard form. Prior to March 24, 2015, VA recognized formal and informal claims. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.1(p). The amendments also, inter alia, eliminated the constructive receipt of VA reports of hospitalization or examination and other medical records as informal claims to reopen. See 79 Fed. Reg. 57,660 (Sept. 25, 2014), codified as amended at 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.151, 3.155 (2016). The amended regulations, however, apply only to claims filed on or after March 24, 2015. On February 4, 2015, VA received the Appellant's Request for Substitution of Claimant Upon Death of Claimant. At this point, the Appellant was unrepresented. There was no acknowledgment from VA. In March 2016, the Appellant submitted a change of address form and she stated, "I am not receiving benefits-waiting on settlement and reply. This has been open for 16 months." In April 2016, VA acknowledged the Appellant's February 2015 correspondence and sent her notice under the Veterans Claims Assistance Act (VCAA), which included information on how to file a DIC claim. In July 2016, the Appellant submitted a DIC claim on VA Form 21-534 Application for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation or Death Pension. As stated above, in September 2016, she was granted DIC benefits effective August 2016, which was based on the date of her July 2016 claim. Here, the Board notes that the Appellant filed her initial request for substitution in February 2015, which was within one year of the Veteran's passing. She had not yet appointed a representative, and her March 2016 correspondence demonstrates that she had intended to apply for benefits. She received no response from VA until over a year later, when she was provided with the appropriate VCAA notice. While her initial filing was on a standardized form for substitution and not DIC, VA did not then require a standardized claim form. Moreover, VA has a duty to fully and sympathetically develop claims, even more so when the Appellant is pro se. Given this, the Board finds it more than reasonable to accept her February 2015 filing as a claim for DIC benefits. Accordingly, since VA received the Appellant's application for DIC benefits within one year of the Veteran's death, DIC benefits are warranted effective November 1, 2014, the first day of the month in which the death occurred. L. M. BARNARD Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board A.Z., 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.