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Informal Claims Dic

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free_spirit_etc

Question

My husband died last February. I filed for DIC in June. On my form, where it asked for family income, I indicated I did not submit information on my son's income, as he was over 21 and I would be submitting a formal claim for him.

I sent an IRIS to ask some questions, including:

?Additionally, as my son is over 21,and disabled, the guidelines say that I will need to submit a separate DIC claim for him.When I submit HIS claim, will I need to submit all the medical evidence regarding my husband's lung cancer (that you would already have on record from my husband's claim and my claim?) Or can I just refer to my husband's previous claim and my claim in regard to the medical evidence for service connection?"

Their response stated:

"It is also unnecessary to file and additional claim for your son, XXX. We are trying to establish him as your dependent on your claim, but we need the information we requested in our recent letter. We need to establish that he became disabled, incapable of self support, prior to his eighteenth birthday."

Of course, my claim has been denied - and I will get around to pulling all that together when I get done fighting the Social Security Administration (who must have taken reading lessons from the VA).

But I was just thinking... I do not think they are correct on establishing my son as a dependent. From everything I read, you have to file a separate claim for children over 21.

And the one year deadline of my husband's death just passed. However, I would think that my statement on MY DIC claim, and my message through IRIS SHOULD constitute an informal claim on his behalf.

So, should I count on what they have told me - and hope if they later decide that is wrong that they will toll the one year period.

Or should I go ahead and FILE a formal claim for DIC on my son's behalf by June, indicate that I understand from the IRIS dated June 13, 2007 that such a separate application is NOT required, however, I am submitting a FORMAL claim WITHIN one year of the INFORMAL claim I submitted on his behalf, in case such a claim is needed.

I just thought that way - I could at least get it on record that an informal claim HAD been submitted on his behalf WITHIN a year of my husband's death - and that a FORMAL claim was being filed WITHIN a year of the informal claim.

Free

Think Outside the Box!
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I would send them a letter and enclose and refer to the Iris reply and state that you are verifying that your son is listed as a dependent of the veteran and ask them to contact you if the initial claim has to be amended to include him.

Iris-

I have had good responses and some ludicrous ones-

one response I got was a beauty-and I used it against them in a SSOC response.

The Iris people look through the claims file fast- maybe they thought you put your son on the 21-534-and didnt really check-

I see their point HERE- his dependency status cannot be an issue until they get proof of total disability.

If this is a claim for accrued benefits also-that would go back to before your son's 18th birthday- I am sure that the VA would automatically add those amounts into any accrued retro payment under DIC.

WHat I mean is this - the EED the VA gave me under 100% SC accrued was for 3 years prior to Rod's death-they added the accurred amount due my daughter up to her eighteenth birthday.

Then when they fixed my Retro DIC offset they also added her as dependent on my DIC check up to her 18th birthday-

If the VA awards an accrued service connection award -an award due your husband in his lifetime-

and it covers the time before your son turned 18-they will automatically add that in.After age 18- he would have to be totally disabled in order for them to add this extra amount.

GRADUATE ! Nov 2nd 2007 American Military University !

When thousands of Americans faced annihilation in the 1800s Chief

Osceola's response to his people, the Seminoles, was

simply "They(the US Army)have guns, but so do we."

Sameo to us -They (VA) have 38 CFR ,38 USC, and M21-1- but so do we.

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  • HadIt.com Elder

There is no way a DIC claim should take this long

Veterans deserve real choice for their health care.

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