200401-75439, 200401-75439

Veteran served in the U.S. Army from February 1968 to February 1970.
Appellant is the mother of the Veteran's minor children, M.S. and E.S., and sought an apportionment of the Veteran's VA disability benefits on their behalf.
The VA Regional Office (RO) denied the Appellant’s apportionment request in February 2020; the Appellant filed a Notice of Disagreement in March 2020 and selected the AMA direct-review lane.
The claim is a simultaneously contested claim governed by 38 U.S.C. § 7105A and the contested-claims regulations at 38 C.F.R. §§ 20.400–20.407.
The Board found procedural defects: the Veteran was not provided a copy of the February 2020 apportionment decision or the Appellant’s March 2020 NOD; neither party received the AMA notification explaining the direct-review lane; the Appellant was not given the AMA docketing letter.
The Board remanded the matter for the RO to comply with contested-claims procedures and to provide the missing documents/notifications before appellate review continues.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the Appellant is entitled to apportionment and whether the appeal is ripe for Board review	Appellant: entitled to apportionment for her minor children and properly appealed the RO denial via NOD in March 2020 (direct review)	RO/VA: denied apportionment; procedural requirements for simultaneously contested claims were not followed	Remanded: appeal not ripe because contested-claims procedures were not followed; Board ordered RO to provide the Veteran with the February 2020 decision and the March 2020 NOD content, give both parties an AMA direct-review notice, and provide the Appellant the AMA docketing letter

None — the decision relies on statutes and VA regulations rather than judicial opinions.