The Board found that the Veteran's net worth was no longer a bar to receiving nonservice-connected pension benefits with special monthly pension based on the need for aid and attendance as of June 1, 2015. Prior to this date, his income and life expectancy were such that it was reasonable to expect him to spend down some part of his net worth for maintenance.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's medical condition required increased baseline maintenance costs starting in June 2015, making it no longer reasonable to expect him to continue spending down the corpus of his estate or net worth prior to receiving improved pension benefits.
- Claimed conditions
- dementia, lung cancer, colon cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 21, 2016
- Citation
- 1624872
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 1624872.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a higher evaluation of his service-connected chronic fatigue and weakness due to chemotherapy and radiation treatment for lung cancer is granted, with an evaluation of 60 percent.,The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for residuals of lung cancer from May 1, 2005 is denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for further evaluation of the Veteran's lung cancer and its relationship to service, including any in-service granuloma.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the cause of death and its relation to service. The Veteran's atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and colon cancer are being evaluated for their relationship to toxic exposure during service.
- Dismissed
The Board has vacated its decisions granting service connection for lung cancer and remanding issues of tinnitus and TDIU, but the Veteran's death means these appeals are dismissed.
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