The Board denied the appellant's claim for an earlier effective date for survivor's pension as a helpless child due to lack of timely submission of an informal claim, and the denial was final.
The deciding factor: The October 2007 submission could not be considered an informal claim because it did not explicitly or implicitly indicate a desire to apply for benefits or identify a benefit sought.
- Claimed conditions
- helpless child status
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 24, 2019
- Citation
- 19180576
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 882 · Granted: 17% (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 19180576.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board vacated the August 2019 decision denying DIC benefits as a helpless child of the Veteran due to improper listing and mailing of the appellant. The termination of DIC benefits effective February 1, 2017, was found proper because the appellant's marriage barred him from being recognized as a helpless child.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a lack of proper notification and evidence regarding the appellant's helplessness status. The VA needs to provide clearer instructions on what evidence is required, obtain medical records from private providers, and verify the appellant’s educational history.
- Dismissed
The Court vacated the September 2014 Board decision denying DIC benefits based on helpless child status and remanded the matter. The motion alleging CUE in this decision is dismissed as moot.
- Partly granted
The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including a VA examination of E.C. to determine his mental health status and whether he was capable of self-support prior to his eighteenth birthday.
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