Exclusion from Countable Income of Expenses Paid for Veteran's Last Illness Subsequent to Veteran's Death but Prior to Date of Death Pension Entitlement

This document amends the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) adjudication regulations governing exclusion of expenses of the veteran's last illness, burial, and just debts from countable income for death pension purposes. This amendment eliminates the prohibition against reducing countable income by the amount of these expenses that the surviving spouse paid after the date of death but prior to the date of his or her entitlement. The intended effect of this amendment is to bring the regulations into conformance with the governing statute as interpreted by VA's General Counsel.