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Denied

The Board found that an effective date earlier than October 1, 1998 for the award of DIC is not warranted due to the appellant's marriage being less than one year and lack of children born from it. The January 1970 decision denying DIC was final.

The deciding factor: The evidence did not demonstrate that the appellant was a widower incapable of self-maintenance and permanently incapable of self-support at the time of the veteran's death, nor did it show he had been married to the veteran for one year or more prior to her death or that a child had been born of the marriage.

Claimed conditions
Not specified in this decision
How they argued it
Not specified
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
April 29, 2002
Citation
0203895

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 0203895.

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