The Board has denied the restoration of death pension benefits for the veteran's widow due to a lack of valid common law marriage prior to their ceremonial marriage in April [redacted], 1997.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence of a valid common law marriage between the appellant and the veteran prior to their ceremonial marriage, which would have satisfied the one-year regulatory requirement for death pension benefits.
- 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 22, 2005
- Citation
- 0534541
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 0534541.
What this means for you
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