The Board denied the appellant's claim for a nonservice-connected death pension due to her net worth exceeding the required limits, despite her age and expenses. The corpus of her estate (held in an irrevocable trust) is considered part of her net worth.
The deciding factor: The appellant’s assets are held in an irrevocable trust for her benefit, which is considered part of her net worth due to the VA regulations allowing such trusts to be included in calculating net worth for pension purposes. Her expenses exceed her income, making it reasonable that she consumes some of her own assets before receiving a death pension.
- Claimed conditions
- Not specified in this decision
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19116118
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 19116118.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
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