The Board denied the appellant's request to restore her VA death pension benefits as an unmarried widow due to the termination of her remarriage, which is not covered by the reinstatement provisions for death pension benefits.
The deciding factor: The law does not allow for the reinstatement of death pension benefits following a terminated marital relationship after November 1, 1990.
- Claimed conditions
- none
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 20, 2006
- Citation
- 0639667
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,547 · 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 0639667.
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 for special monthly compensation based on the need for aid and attendance of another person or housebound status is being remanded due to new evidence added to the file by VA. The case will be readjudicated in a Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC).
- Denied
The Veteran's adult daughter, H.J., was added as a dependent and granted additional VA dependency benefits from August 2023. The appellant is not eligible for the direct payment of fees from past due benefits awarded in this May 2024 Administrative Decision.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for special monthly compensation based on the need for aid and attendance/housebound is being remanded due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The VA will schedule an examination to determine if his service-connected disabilities render him helpless or require regular aid and attendance.
- Dismissed
The Veteran requested to withdraw his appeal, and as a result, the case is dismissed.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.