The Board has determined that the appellant is recognized as the surviving deemed valid spouse for VA purposes, and therefore, she is eligible to receive VA death pension benefits.
The deciding factor: The veteran and the appellant had a deemed valid marriage since April 2000, which was over one year prior to the veteran's death. The appellant did not have knowledge of the legal impediment (that common-law marriages are not recognized in the State of California) prohibiting their marriage.
- Claimed conditions
- Not specified in this decision
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 31, 2003
- Citation
- 0336763
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 0336763.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
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Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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- Denied
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- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD is granted as the evidence shows a current diagnosis of PTSD, an in-service stressor, and a medical link between the two.
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