The veteran's spouse, who was divorced from the veteran at the time of his death, is not recognized as the surviving spouse for VA benefits due to a lack of legal authority recognizing such after divorce.
The deciding factor: There is no legal authority that would permit VA to recognize the appellant as the surviving spouse of the veteran after their divorce.
- Claimed conditions
- anxiety neurosis with depressive features
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 1, 2005
- Citation
- 0524070
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 0524070.
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
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including scheduling a VA examination and providing Vazquez-Flores compliant notice.
- Remanded (sent back)
The veteran's claim for an increased evaluation for his service-connected anxiety neurosis with depressive features is being remanded due to the need for additional VA medical records and a psychiatric examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for additional medical records and a more current psychiatric examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for specially adapted housing or a special home adaptation grant, finding that he did not meet the criteria for eligibility due to lack of anatomical loss or use of limbs.
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