The Board denied the appellant's appeal as she is not entitled to concurrent DIC benefits based on the service of two veterans due to her election to receive benefits from one veteran.
The deciding factor: The regulation explicitly states that concurrent benefits under laws administered by VA may not be authorized to a surviving spouse by reason of the death of more than one veteran to whom the surviving spouse has been married, and the appellant must elect which benefit she will receive.
- Claimed conditions
- cause of death
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 26, 2021
- Citation
- 21024801
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 21024801.
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
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal because the Appellant did not specify which specific decision or issue she disagreed with, specifically regarding her claim for service connection related to Camp Lejeune exposure.
- Dismissed
The Board has already granted service connection for the cause of death in a previous decision, and no new issues are pending. The current appeal is dismissed.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for the Veteran's cause of death is dismissed due to concurrent election.
- Granted
The Board has granted an earlier effective date of July 1, 2014 for dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) based on the appellant's claim received within one year following the Veteran's death.
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