Request to be a substitute claimant for a deceased claimant

Use this form if someone you’re connected to dies before we finish processing their VA claim and you want to continue their claim.

What to know before you fill out the form

• The person with the claim (called the “deceased claimant") must have died before we decided their claim, decision review, or appeal. You can’t file a new claim for a Veteran’s disability after their death.
• We follow a specific order (or line of succession) for who can be a substitute claimant based on their relationship to the deceased claimant. For example, if a Veteran with an open claim dies and they have a living spouse, only the spouse can be their substitute claimant.
• We must receive your request within 1 year of the deceased claimant’s death. If a substitute claimant dies, then the next person in the line of succession has 1 year to request to be the substitute claimant.
• If we approve your request to be a substitute claimant, you can help us gather the evidence we need to complete the claim. And if we approve the claim, we’ll pay you the accrued benefits (or backpay) that we would have owed the deceased claimant before their death.