Helmick v. McDonough, Opinion Number 19-5290, was decided May 25, 2021 and involves whether a someone can receive an accrued benefit following the death of someone entitled to benefits and what the term “bore the expense” in 38 U.S.C. Section 5121 means.
The Court explained:
Congress has provided in 38 U.S.C. §
5121 that certain persons may receive accrued benefits following the death of
someone entitled to receive periodic monetary benefits from VA at the time of
his or her death. No matter how we approach this appeal, whether the Board
erred comes down to the meaning of the phrase "bore the expense" in
section 5121(a)(6), a provision describing one category of persons entitled to
such accrued benefits. That statutory section provides that "only so much
of the accrued benefits may be paid as may be necessary to reimburse the person
who bore the expense of last sickness and burial."3 If "bore"
means "paid," as the Board assumed, then the Board did not err in
denying appellant additional accrued benefits. That is so because it is
undisputed that appellant did not pay his mother's medical expenses. Rather, he
has always maintained, and as the Board acknowledged, he loaned her $15,000 so
that she herself could use the money to pay her medical expenses. She did, but
she died before she could repay the loan. But if, on the other hand, "bore"
means something broader than "paid," then the Board erred. The Board
would have applied the incorrect legal standard to the facts. We hold that, for
purposes of section 5121(a)(6) and 38 C.F.R. § 3.1000(a)(5), "bore the
expense" means something broader than "paid." That phrase
includes, at a minimum, a loan under the circumstances we have here. The Board
erred by employing too narrow an understanding of what entitles a person to
accrued benefits under the law.
Id. at *1.
Decision by Judge Allen and joined in by Judges Toth and Laurer.
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