Citation Nr: AXXXXXXXX Decision Date: 11/29/19 Archive Date: 11/27/19 DOCKET NO. 190315-3969 DATE: November 29, 2019 ORDER The claim for entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death under the provisions of the Appeals Modernization Act (AMA) is dismissed without prejudice to refiling within one year from April 8, 2019. FINDING OF FACT The Appellant’s March 14, 2019, Notice of Disagreement was premature; it was filed prior to the April 8, 2019 notification letter advising the Appellant of the rating decision. CONCLUSION OF LAW The Board currently lacks jurisdiction to consider the issue of entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death under the provisions of the Appeals Modernization Act. See 84 Fed. Reg. 138, Pub. L. No. 115-55, § 5104 (to be codified as amended in scattered sections of 38 U.S.C., 131 Stat. 1105 (2017); 38 U.S.C. § 7105(d); 38 C.F.R. § 20.104(c). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from December 1969 to July 1972. He served honorably in the United States Army, including in Korea. He passed away in September 2018, and the Appellant is his surviving spouse. The Board thanks the Appellant for the Veteran’s service to our country and is mindful that this has been a difficult time for her as described in her letter dated March 1, 2019. On August 23, 2017, the President signed into law the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act, Pub. L. No. 115-55 (to be codified as amended in scattered sections of 38 U.S.C.), 131 Stat. 1105 (2017), also known as the Appeals Modernization Act (AMA). The AMA became effective on February 19, 2019. This law creates a new framework for VA’s decision review process. The Board does not currently have jurisdiction over claims for which the Appellant is the substituted claimant, including claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus, glaucoma, photophobia, and sleep apnea listed in May 2019 correspondence from the Appellant’s representative. This is so because the supplemental claim requested by the Veteran in his April 2018 RAMP Opt-in election has not yet been adjudicated by the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ). See August 2, 2018 correspondence from VA. After any such readjudication, a VA Form 10182 would thereafter need to be timely filed in order for those claims to be considered by the Board. Entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death The Appellant initiated a claim for service connection for cause of death on September 20, 2018. A rating decision dated February 4, 2019, denied the claim. On March 14, 2019, prior to notification of the February 2019 rating decision, the Appellant submitted a VA Form 10182 (Decision Review Request: Board Appeal (Notice of Disagreement)) indicating the desire to appeal the February 4, 2019 rating decision. Thereafter, on April 8, 2019, the notification letter was issued indicating the Appellant had one year from April 8, 2019, to appeal the February 2019 decision. In order for the Board to have jurisdiction of an AMA appeal from a rating decision with a notification letter dated on or after February 19, 2019, a Notice of Disagreement must be properly filed within one year of the date of the letter notifying the appellant of the decision. VA Claims and Appeals Modernization, 84 Fed. Reg. 138, 181 (Jan. 19, 2019)(to be codified at 38 C.F.R. § 20.203). The Board does not have jurisdiction over the claim for entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death at the present time. The March 14, 2019 VA Form 10182 was premature as it was not filed within a year after the April 8, 2019 notification letter. The Board encourages the Appellant to file a timely VA Form 10182 within one year from April 8, 2019. The Board acknowledges that the Veteran served in the Army and greatly appreciates his honorable service and sacrifices. This dismissal -without prejudice pending refiling within one year from April 8, 2019- is in no way meant to diminish his admirable service to our country; however, as the Board does not have jurisdiction under the AMA over the Appellant’s claim, it is dismissed under that framework.

M. C. GRAHAM Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board T. Fales, Associate Counsel The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.