The Veteran's son is seeking DIC benefits as the helpless child of his father due to permanent incapacity for self-support prior to reaching age 18. The VA needs to obtain relevant medical records and SSA disability determination information.
The deciding factor: VA needs additional evidence regarding the appellant’s status at age 18 to determine if he was permanently incapable of self-support.
- Claimed conditions
- permanent incapacity for self-support prior to attaining age 18
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- December 6, 2018
- Citation
- 18155737
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 18155737.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
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).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran seeks to establish recognition of his child, E., as his dependent child for VA purposes on the basis of permanent incapacity for self-support prior to attaining the age of 18. The Board finds that this condition is not met due to insufficient evidence showing E. was incapable of self-support prior to turning 18.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran seeks to establish recognition of his child, E., as his dependent child for VA purposes on the basis of permanent incapacity for self-support prior to attaining the age of 18. The Board finds that there is insufficient evidence in the record to show that E. became permanently incapable of self-support prior to attaining the age of 18.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's request to recognize his daughter, K.F., as a 'helpless child' due to insufficient evidence showing she was permanently incapable of self-support prior to her 18th birthday.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining SSA records and VA Form 21-4142s. The issues are related to whether G.H.L. can be recognized as the Veteran's child for VA benefits purposes, service connection for coronary artery disease for accrued benefits purposes, and service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death.
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