CAVC Decision Analyzing 38 C.F.R. 3.54(c)(2) (Married One Year Prior to Death)
On December 4, 2014, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims issued a decision in Gazaille v. McDonald (hyperlinked). The majority held that the claimant, the wife of a deceased Vietnam War veteran, was not entitled to Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) because she did not meet the statutory requirements (38 U.S.C. § 1304) or regulatory requirements (38 C.F.R. § 3.54(c)(2)) of being...
Army Secretary McHugh’s Directive to ARBA
On September 3, 2014 DoD Secretary Hagel issued a memorandum to the Board of Correction of Military Records regarding discharge upgrade requests when there is an underlying issue of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We previously blogged about this supplemental guidance at http://blog.finkrosnerershow-levenberg.com/va-benefits-news/sec-hagels-guidance-bcmnr-ptsd/.
On November 3, 2014,...
2014 Veterans Health Benefits Handbook
A few weeks ago, the Veterans Health Care Administration (VHA) released an updated version of the handbook explaining a veteran’s explanation of rights and benefits. The attached sample, accessible at 2014 Veterans Health Benefits Handbook, will essentially be the same as the personalized version that veterans should receive in the mail.
If you have questions regarding your eligibility...
Federal Bill S2410 to benefit disabled children of US veterans
Legislation is pending in the Congress concerning the payment of a veteran’s survivor benefits. Under current law, a veteran’s survivor benefits which are payable to the veteran’s children must be paid directly to the beneficiary. If the beneficiary is disabled and is dependent upon other governmental benefits which are means-tested, this could cause the recipient to be...
Remembering the sacrifices of the soldiers at D-Day
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the June 6, 1944 Allied invasion of the coast of Normandy to accomplish an Allied push through France against Germany. I was privileged last week to have an opportunity to visit the Caen Memorial in France and to take a guided tour of the D-Day landing sites. At the memorial, we watched a live-footage film that was made of soldiers sitting ready on...
Veterans History Project – Library of Congress
In 2000, Congress created the Veterans History Project, a initiative through the Library of Congress to collect, record, and preserve information pertaining to veterans of past and current conflicts. It is often that I’ll see hand-written narratives from WWII veterans or oral recollections from Vietnam veterans explaining the events they witnessed. It’s a humbling experience and...
VA Press Release – Expansion of Educational Benefits and the Role of the VA in 20th Century History
On October 20, 2014, the Department of Veterans Affairs issued the following VA Press Release explaining the expansion of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to surviving spouses of servicemembers killed while on active duty. This announcement is implementation of one of the statutory provisions of the recent Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (“Choice Act”).
It also gives me an...
Effective Date of Entitlement for DIC Benefits . . . Please File Within One Year of Death
On October 20, 2014, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) issued a single-judge unpublished memorandum opinion in Heredia v. McDonald. The opinion is not precedential and presents no point of law that is unresolved, however, it will hopefully give insight in the future for filing a VA survivor benefits claim. In essence, the surviving spouse, Mrs. Natalia Heredia, of Marine...
CAVC Troubled By One ROs Lack of Responsiveness . . . But One RO Has Shed Light Through the Fog of Recent
On October 7, 2014, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claim (CAVC) published a decision in Roberts v. McDonald (regarding how the offset should occur for surviving spouses both entitled to annuity benefits under the Survival Benefits Plan and VA benefits pursuant to dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC)), and a number of unpublished decisions. While unpublished decisions have no legal...
Board of Veterans’ Appeals Grants Service Connection for Conditions Related to TBI
On September 22, 2014, the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA) granted service connection for an acquired mental health disorder and tinnitus for a Navy veteran. These disabilities related to documented TBI incidents that occurred while on active-duty service during the 1980s. The Board remanded to the VA Regional Office to assess the level of disability for the now-service connected...