The Board denied the appellant's claim for recognition as the surviving spouse of the veteran, finding that their relationship did not constitute a deemed valid marriage and thus they are not entitled to VA death pension or dependency and indemnity compensation.
The deciding factor: The appellant and the veteran entered into a ceremonial marriage more than 15 years after the veteran's discharge from active service. The Board concluded that this relationship did not meet the requirements for a deemed valid marriage due to lack of awareness by the appellant regarding Tennessee's recognition of common-law marriages, and their failure to hold themselves out as husband and wife.
- 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 10, 2004
- Citation
- 0432850
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 0432850.
What this means for you
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