Chapter 35 Dea Benefits.

[hawkfire27]

SO here I sit, amazed at the letter I am looking at.

In June 2009 I applied for chapter 35 Education benefits for spouse. I was denied.

I sent in a NOD which was deniedd, and then sent in a FORM 9 Appeal with Travel Board hearing.

Well for the last two years I have been looking forward to a travel baord hearing date to be set. Everytime I call the VA they tell me there is an appeal and I just need to wait for the hearing date to be assigned. Well that's just fine right???

Wrong!

Apparently I never even needed to file an appeal. I just need to reapply for my education bebenfits.

My VSO at PVA Albuquerque just informed me that if I am denied, I can reapply, as the effective date is not the same for DEA education bebenfits as it is for compensation or pension. I t is the date of disability or the date of marriage which determines the effective date, so there is no need to appeal it.

It is also not treated like a compensation claim, or shouldn't be anyway.

So here I am with a letter from the Muskogee Education Office stating they are currently working on my claim, and all it took was a letter from PVA asking for reapplication.

Anyone else experienced this?

[Philip Rogers]

Has your spouse applied?? It's their claim and she/he needs to apply, not you. Be sure it goes to the regional office that handles educational claims and will probably need to submit copies of marriage license, birth certificate, divorce papers(if any previous marriages), along w/copy of your award.

As for the date, for DEA benefits, it can be date of marriage, if marriage took place after the award of the P&T. You'll have to check the rules here otherwise, as they've been posted many times.

pr

SO here I sit, amazed at the letter I am looking at.

In June 2009 I applied for chapter 35 Education benefits for spouse. I was denied.

I sent in a NOD which was deniedd, and then sent in a FORM 9 Appeal with Travel Board hearing.

Well for the last two years I have been looking forward to a travel baord hearing date to be set. Everytime I call the VA they tell me there is an appeal and I just need to wait for the hearing date to be assigned. Well that's just fine right???

Wrong!

Apparently I never even needed to file an appeal. I just need to reapply for my education bebenfits.

My VSO at PVA Albuquerque just informed me that if I am denied, I can reapply, as the effective date is not the same for DEA education bebenfits as it is for compensation or pension. I t is the date of disability or the date of marriage which determines the effective date, so there is no need to appeal it.

It is also not treated like a compensation claim, or shouldn't be anyway.

So here I am with a letter from the Muskogee Education Office stating they are currently working on my claim, and all it took was a letter from PVA asking for reapplication.

Anyone else experienced this?

[crawsfire]

I'm not sure why you would want to do that. If your claim gets denied again then you have to file a NOD again and then ask for a hearing again and then wait again. Maybe I just don't understand what you are saying. I had been patiently waiting for my hearing when out of the blue i received a letter stating they had reversed their decision. I'm not sure that would have happened had I reapplied with a new claim.

Edited April 19, 2011 by crawsfire