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Denied

The Board denied the veteran's son's claim to be recognized as a 'helpless child' due to his incapacity not occurring before he reached 18 years of age.

The deciding factor: The appellant's son attained the age of 18 before becoming permanently incapable of self-support, thus falling outside the definition of a 'helpless child'.

Claimed conditions
Not specified in this decision
How they argued it
Not specified
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
February 23, 2004
Citation
0404968

Veterans Law Judge

Keith W. Allen

Decisions by this judge: 2,669 · Granted: 23% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)

Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.

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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0404968.

What this means for you

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