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Denied

The Board found that the appellant is not entitled to recognition as the veteran's surviving spouse for purposes of VA death benefits due to their 1983 divorce.

The deciding factor: The appellant and the veteran were legally divorced in 1983, which means she was no longer his spouse at the time of his death.

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 24, 2003
Citation
0336397

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 0336397.

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