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Denied

The Board found that the appellant is not entitled to the proceeds of her uncle's National Service Life Insurance (NSLI) policy because she did not have testamentary capacity at the time he changed beneficiaries, and there was no evidence of undue influence. The veteran had previously designated his nephew as the principal beneficiary.

The deciding factor: The appellant failed to meet her burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that the insured veteran intended for her to be a beneficiary of his NSLI policy.

Claimed conditions
Not specified in this decision
How they argued it
Not specified
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
November 14, 2001
Citation
0126941

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 0126941.

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