The Board denied the appellant's claim for accrued benefits as L.T.R. was not the surviving spouse of the veteran and her pension benefits were terminated due to a prior valid common law marriage with W.B.
The deciding factor: A prior undissolved marriage between the veteran and another individual (W.B.) rendered L.T.R.'s common law marriage with the veteran void under Alabama law.
- Claimed conditions
- Not specified in this decision
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 2, 2002
- Citation
- 0213486
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 0213486.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
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