The Board finds that the appellant is recognized as the surviving spouse of the veteran for VA purposes, and her claim is granted.
The deciding factor: The evidence shows that the appellant entered into a common-law marriage with the veteran prior to his death, which was not legally valid due to New York State's prohibition on such marriages. However, she had no knowledge of this legal impediment at the time of their marriage. The Board accepted her statement and found that the attempted marriage occurred one year or more before the veteran died, she entered into it without knowledge of any legal impediment, and they cohabited continuously until his death. No other claimant has been found to be entitled to gratuitous VA death benefits.
- Claimed conditions
- Not specified in this decision
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 13, 2000
- Citation
- 0018349
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0018349.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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- Granted
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- Partly granted
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