The Board has reopened the claim and found that new and material evidence was submitted. However, the appellant's marriage to the veteran did not meet the criteria for recognition as his surviving spouse for entitlement to DIC benefits.
The deciding factor: The appellant's marriage to the veteran occurred more than 15 years after the veteran's separation from active service, and they were not married for one year prior to the veteran's death under either Washington or Louisiana law. There was also no child born between them before or after their marriage.
- Claimed conditions
- Not specified in this decision
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 16, 2006
- Citation
- 0631996
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,084 · Granted: 20% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0631996.
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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