Citation Nr: A25020004 Decision Date: 03/05/25 Archive Date: 03/05/25 DOCKET NO. 220131-506929 DATE: March 5, 2025 ORDER The appeal for eligibility for benefits under the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA's) Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) is denied. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran passed away in April 2023. Due to the death of the Veteran, the application requirements for approval and enrollment into the PCAFC cannot be completed. CONCLUSION OF LAW Due to the death of the Veteran, the appeal for eligibility for PCAFC benefits must be denied as a matter of law. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1720G, 7104; 38 C.F.R. §§ 20.1302, 71.20, 71.25. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The first party to this matter is the Veteran, who served on active duty during the Vietnam Era from August 1967 to August 1970. He passed away in April 2023. The second party to the matter is his daughter, T.G., who is applying to be the Primary Family Caregiver. In the January 2022 VA Form 10182, Decision Review Request: Board Appeal (Notice of Disagreement), the Appellants elected the Direct Review docket. Therefore, the Board may only consider the evidence of record at the time of the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) decision on appeal. 38 C.F.R. § 20.301. Any evidence submitted after the AOJ decision on appeal cannot be considered by the Board. 38 C.F.R. §§ 20.300, 20.301, 20.801. Eligibility for VA's PCAFC During his lifetime, the Veteran and Caregiver filed a joint application for PCAFC benefits in May 2021. The claim for PCAFC benefits was originally denied in a July 2021 AOJ decision. The basis of the denial was that the Veteran was not in need of personal care services for a minimum of six continuous months based on an inability to perform an activity of daily living (ADL). The Appellants appealed the July 2021 AOJ decision by filing a VA Form 10182 to the Board in January 2022. Decisions as to eligibility under a Caregiver Program have been held to be subject to Board review. See Beaudette v. McDonough, 34?Vet. App.?95, 105 (2021). Unfortunately, due to the death of the Veteran, the Board must deny this appeal as a matter of law. PCAFC is a VA program that provides certain benefits to caregivers of eligible veterans who have incurred or aggravated serious injuries during military service. 38 C.F.R. § 71.10(a). An "eligible veteran" means a veteran, or a servicemember, who is found eligible for a Family Caregiver under § 71.20. 38 C.F.R. § 71.15. A "Primary Family Caregiver" means an individual who meets the requirements of § 71.25. Id. The application requirements under § 71.25 direct that evaluations to determine eligibility, education and training, and a home care assessment be completed after receipt of a joint application by the Veteran and the individual seeking to serve as a Primary Family Caregiver. See 38 C.F.R. § 71.25(a). Under 38 C.F.R. § 71.25(f), final approval of a joint application along with the designation of a Primary Family Caregiver will occur after the application requirements are met and is conditioned on the applicants' "remaining eligible" for program benefits, including the caregiver continuing to provide caregiver services to the Veteran and continuing compliance with all applicable requirements. In this instance, the AOJ did not make a final determination finding the Veteran eligible for PCAFC benefits under § 71.20 prior to his death. Thus, eligibility did not remain in effect throughout the processing of the claim, as required by 38 C.F.R. § 71.25(f) (Approval and designation is conditioned on the eligible veteran and designated Family Caregiver(s) remaining eligible for Family Caregiver benefits). Final approval and designation did not occur by the time of the Veteran's death, the joint application was not processed, and the applicants were not enrolled in PCAFC. See 80 Fed. Reg. 1375 (January 9, 2015) (Family Caregiver benefits are effective as of the date that the signed joint application is received by VA or the date the eligible veteran begins receiving care at home (whichever is later), but these benefits are not provided until a Family Caregiver has been designated. Family Caregivers must complete all required training and instruction to become so designated). Approval for PCAFC and designation of a Family Caregiver are precluded as a matter of law because the eligible Veteran and Family Caregiver are no longer eligible for benefits. Therefore, there is no basis upon which to award the benefit sought in this case as a matter of law. See Sabonis v. Brown, 6?Vet. App.?426, 430 (1994) (holding that, where the law and not the evidence is dispositive, the Board should deny the claim on the ground of the lack of legal merit or the lack of entitlement under the law). The Veteran's death precludes initial eligibility. The Board appreciates the Veteran's honorable service to this country. However, there is no potential avenue by which the eligibility requirements for PCAFC benefits could be granted. Therefore, this appeal must be denied as a matter of law. 38 U.S.C. § 7104(a); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302. TANYA SMITH Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Bynum, Tamara L. 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.