Pending Claim and DIC

[paulstrgn]

I am asking for advice for a friend. Her husband had passed away last year from prostate cancer, he was stationed at Camp Lejeune during the contaminated water dates. He filed a claim in August 2017 and passed away in late October 2017 (he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in late 2014). He had been approved for other disabilities for 40%. The claim was transferred to his wife December 2017, the claim is still pending with no expected completion date. Last week she had called eBenefits and was told it was sitting on someones desk for a signature for approval (supposedly - not holding my breath for an approval). She is currently on SS and has two small children (5 and 10). Needless to say she is barely making it from month to month. eBenefits (which I know is not reliable said it should have been completed by 4/11/2018). When she called eBenefits today the person she spoke with (she seemed annoyed that she called) said there is no expected completion date and that it was in the national que. I had her call the White House VA Hotline today and she now needs to wait another 21 business days. My first question is, is there anything else she can do to speed up the process? Depending on if it is approved should the EED be late 2014 or the filing date of 8/2017? Also she was also having to take care of him due to his weaken condition, would she have been eligible for A&A money for the two months before he passed away? 

Is she entitled to DIC? I am not sure how that works in this case.

Any and all advice will be greatly appreciated.

[Berta]

To correct something- a C file copy is obtained by requesting it from the VARO the veteran or their surviving spouse deals with.

VA medical records are requested from the VAMC the veteran is , or was in their lifetime, treated at.

Their records access officer  should have a short form to make the request on.

STRs and 201 inservice personnel records are requested via a SF 180 at the NARA web site under the Veterans Records area.

Edited November 23, 2018 by Berta

[paulstrgn]

Thank you for your suggestions Ms. Berta. He was not in Vietnam (to young), she has all of his service medical files along with his personnel files while in the military. There was no autopsy performed on him. I need to go through his files and see what he has already been approved for, he was at 40% without the prostate claim. I am not able to answer all of the questions since the papers she has does not appear to have all of the VA correspondence.  I will have her request her husband C-File so we can see exactly what is in it.

She will join this site so she can also ask any questions she might have, even though it has been more than a year since he passed away she is still grieving. 

I did have her file the 21-534 DIC last night (we faxed it in), I will also have her mail in a copy of the form via express mail just to be sure.

I really do appreciate all the information that has been provided to me and I know I will have more as time goes on.

[paulstrgn]

I guess the VA also does not assist or suggest widows when they request death benefits to tell them that they may also be eligible for DIC. I really feel that they should, after all most widows are not thinking straight or clearly when they are dealing with the death of the veteran.

[paulstrgn]

Sorry for got to ask. Can I assume when she asked for burial benefits that that would also not serve as an EED for DIC? I am assuming no, but I may also be wrong.

[Berta]

This is the whole 9 yards on burial benefits-

If they pay the NSC death benefit , $ 300 I elive, then if she eventually succeeds in the DIC claim

because the death payments go faster than DIC, she should the receive the full SC death amount- kess what she got under the NSC rating.

This happened to me- first the NSC death bebefit , than about 14 years later *I proved direct SC death- and they sent me the higher payment less the $ 300.

There is also a small SSA benefit as well but she probably got that by now.

"She will join this site so she can also ask any questions she might have, even though it has been more than a year since he passed away she is still grieving. "

Va and even VSOs know that and often take advantage of our grief.

My USMC husand has been dead for 24 years- I still grieve, and my Army husband died in 1981 when my daughter was still in diapers-I filed a claim but did not keep up with it.

I posted a Survivor Must read article in the DIC forum.

Basically the many questions that have to be asked.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 23, 2018 by Berta

[paulstrgn]

It is sad that the VA and VSOs do take advantage of widows like they do, for me when they have widows they should bend over backwards to ensure that they receive all the benefits that they are entitled to. After all a spouse serves just like the vet does. I will read and print out the "Survivor Must read article" in DIC. I have found that what you post and others as well on this site are very helpful.