The veteran died in December 1982, and his widow was awarded pension benefits. The widow died in October 1999, and the appellant returned a check for her funeral expenses to VA. The Board found that there were no accrued benefits due because the widow's pension had been discontinued as of September 30, 1999.
The deciding factor: The effective date for discontinuance of the widow's pension was September 30, 1999, which is the last day of the month before her death in October 1999. There are no accrued benefits due to the appellant as she did not qualify under the provisions of 38 C.F.R. § 3.1000(a).
- Claimed conditions
- Not specified in this decision
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- July 20, 2001
- Citation
- 0119005
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0119005.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
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