The Board has remanded the cases for further development regarding accrued benefits and death benefits due to the appellant's status as a legal guardian of the Veteran's minor children. The appellant is not eligible for DIC, but her claims for death benefits and accrued benefits are being remanded.
The deciding factor: The appellant was not married to the Veteran at the time of his death, thus she does not meet the criteria for surviving spouse status required for eligibility to receive Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC).
- Claimed conditions
- Not specified in this decision
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 30, 2020
- Citation
- 20007963
Veterans Law Judge
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 20007963.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
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