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Denied

The Board has determined that the appellant is not entitled to recognition as a surviving spouse of the veteran for the purpose of receiving VA benefits due to the marriage occurring within 15 years of the veteran's separation from military service.

The deciding factor: The marriage between the appellant and the veteran occurred within 15 years of the veteran's retirement, which disqualifies the appellant from being recognized as a surviving spouse under applicable regulations.

Claimed conditions
Not specified in this decision
How they argued it
Not specified
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
December 4, 2002
Citation
0217506

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 0217506.

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