Appeal Complete...what is next step?

[Butcher2510]

Earlier this year my grandpa passed away.  For the past few years I have been helping him work through some service connected disabilities with some success.  Well he has had an open appeal for over 2 years.  Being that 80+ year old men aren't that great on the computer, I helped him track and manage his benefits via eBenefits.  As I was helping my mom go through all the forms to fill out for a flag, burial allowance, etc, I thought to check the status of the claim.  Online it says that the claim has been completed, I assume he was denied because there was no rating change.  The date of the appeal completion was the date he passed away.  I just finished helping my mother fill out all the paperwork for his estate to claim whatever money was owed to him from the VA.  Who should i contact?  I am going to call the VA this evening to try to get an answer but it seems that they just wrote him off as soon as they found out he died?

[broncovet]

You have to file, with VA, a "substitution of claimant" form or the claim dies.  If you correctly fill out this form and follow up, the estate could get his retro.  

It isnt enough that you are in the will, you must still file a substitution of claimant.  

[Berta]

And if their was a pending claim at death, the widow can pursue that claim under the accrued regulations.

Nehmer AO accrued claims do not have a deadline for applying for accrued benefits but all other claims for accrued  MUST be filed within the first year after the veteran's death.

 " I am going to call the VA this evening to try to get an answer but it seems that they just wrote him off as soon as they found out he died?"

Even worse then that is when some vet reps say the claim died with the veteran...yet fail to tell a survivor how to resurrect it. ( The DAV (one of my former reps) told me the 2 claims my husband had pending 'died with' my husband) but  I quickly rattled off the accrued regulations , BS to that.

Was he service connected at all?

Was a DIC form filed along with the other papers?

We have plenty of DIC and accrued info here...in the DIC forum.

In the days I applied for accrued I had to start from day one, these days the VA says those types of claims go faster.It took almost 3 years for them to award my accrued claims.

 

 

Edited May 2, 2017 by Berta

[Butcher2510]

Thanks for getting back to me.

 

I have filled out the paperwork for a transfer of claimant, and my mom is going to send it in.  With the paperwork she has to include some copy of the letter regarding the executer or something of that nature.

 

He was service connected at 40%, but i am not familiar with the term DIC.

Thanks again, I feel like I am taking the correct steps but just looking for reassurance.

[Berta]

DIC means Dependency Indemnity Compensation.

If his 40% SC caused or contributed to his death by virtue of  # 1 and/or # 2 under Cause of death, signed by the ME or Coroner,on his Death Certificate,  the VA will pay $1257 a month (higher rates for children) as within:

http://www.benefits.va.gov/compensation/resources_comp03.asp

If the DIC claim succeeds ,VA will pay back to date of death, if the DIC form is filed within one year of death.

Otherwise,unless an AO Nehmer death, the VA will pay retro DIC back to the date they receive the application ( Form 21-534). 

The Agent Orange disabilities that are presumptive to AO are available and listed here under a search.

Lots of DIC info here in our DIC forum.

If an autopsy was done, that would be a more detailed statement of what caused his death.

 

[Berta]

Can you tell us what you meant by "Appeal complete" ? 

You stated when you first posted here:

"Online it says that the claim has been completed, I assume he was denied because there was no rating change.  The date of the appeal completion was the date he passed away."

Can you tell us what the claim(s) was for , that was pending when he died?

And the Causes of death per the death certificate?

It could have bearing on the DIC claim.

Had the VARO issued a SOC (Statement of the case) that brought the claim into the "appeals" 

scenario.

If so, that SOC holds their rationale for denial (if they denied before he died and also the evidence list they used)

or is this a case (like mine was) whereby no decision at all had been made yet on his 2 pending claims?

One of my husband's pending claims,( that I produced evidence for *) when I filed for Accrued and DIC, 

was resolved with a DIC award.(1151) The other pending claim I appealed and they awarded  from 30% SC PTSD to 100% P & T SC for PTSD.

*I produced evidence the VA had in their possession- accrued benefits are solely based on the evidence VA had  in their possession at time of death.Some of my evidence was at the General Counsel's office by then-at VA Central in DC, but that situation ( FTCA) was resolved by medical review of evidence the VA had in their possession when he died.(for the 1151 DIC award) ( some of it however they said Never existed at all, but I found it years later and used it fgor my IHD claim)

The posthumous 100% PTSD award was also based on evidence VA had in their possession when he died. (The VA lied about that statement at first but had to eat their words)

When I reopened years later for a direct SC death, the 2 separate direct SC awards I got were based on the same medical records, but involved two additional causes of death (due to AO exposure.)

This must sound convoluted to you but I am concerned as to whether the pending claim had been denied or

just taken off the books (closed) until the widow responds.

 "Online it says that the claim has been completed, I assume he was denied because there was no rating change.  The date of the appeal completion was the date he passed away.  "

Did he or your mother ever have a POA vet rep handle any of his claims?

At his age, was he incountry- Korea while in the service ?....as some Korean War Vets were exposed to AO if they served near the DMZ during certain dates and VA has made SC awards on that basis.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 4, 2017 by Berta

[Butcher2510]

When I stated "appeal complete" that is what it said on eBenefits.  Where as before it said something to the effect that the appeal was still in process, him and I had looked at it about two weeks before he passed away.

 

He died of lung cancer, he had an appeal open for COPD due to exposure to asbestos and for an increase in his hearing loss.