Department of Veterans Affairs M21-1, Part I, Chapter 5 Veterans Benefits Administration September 28, 2015 Washington, DC 20420 Key Changes Changes Included in This Revision The table below describes the changes included in this revision of Veterans Benefits Manual M21-1, Part I, “Claimants Rights and Responsibilities,” Chapter 5, “Appeals.” Notes: The term “regional office” (RO) also includes pension management center (PMC), where appropriate. Unless otherwise noted, the term “claims folder” refers to the official, numbered, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) repository – whether paper or electronic – for all documentation relating to claims that a Veteran and/or his/her survivors file with VA. Minor editorial changes have also been made to clarify block labels and/or block text, and bring the document into conformance with M21-1 standards. Reason(s) for the Change Citation To clarify that a claim for accrued benefits or a request to substitute is necessary to act on a claim pending before VA at the time of the appellant’s death. To direct that potential accrued claimants should be sent a VA Form Request for Substitution of Claimant Upon Death of Claimant, when there is no evidence of accrued benefits and a claim or appeal was pending at the time of the original claimant’s death. Part I, Chapter 5, Section J, Topic 3, Block b (I.5.J.3.b) To indicate that a substitute claimant may file a notice of disagreement (NOD), if the one-year period to file an NOD had not expired at the time of the original claimant’s death. Rescissions None Authority By Direction of the Under Secretary for Benefits Signature Thomas J. Murphy, Director Compensation Service
Note: PSG VII does not wait for CAVC to issue its decision before transferring the claims folder back to the RO, BVA, or AMC. d. Handling Claims Related to an Issue Before CAVC Upon receipt of a claim related to an issue before CAVC after the claims folder has been forwarded to PSG VII do not process the claim acknowledge receipt of the material file it in the temporary claims folder, and notify PSG VII that material related to the appeal before CAVC has been received, and is being maintained at the RO. e. Handling Claims Unrelated to an Issue Before CAVC Upon receipt of a claim unrelated to an issue before CAVC after the claims folder has been forwarded to PSG VII, process the claim as expeditiously as possible. The table below describes the process for obtaining the claims folder from PSG VII if the claims folder is needed to process the claim. Stage Description 1 The development activity determines if the claim can be processed based on the information in the temporary claims folder. If yes, the development activity processes the claim. If no, go to Stage 2. 2 The development activity requests the return of the claims folder by faxing a request to PSG VII at (202) 632-7122. The faxed request should include the claimant’s name claim number, and reason for requesting the claims folder. 3 The attorney to whom the case is assigned determines whether the claims folder may be returned to the RO immediately. If yes, the attorney determines whether the claims folder must subsequently be returned to PSG VII, and returns the claims folder to the RO. If no, go to Stage 4. 4 The attorney either advises the development activity of the