The appellant was not recognized as the surviving spouse for purposes of VA death benefits due to her lack of a valid common law marriage with the veteran prior to October 1991, and because she did not live continuously with him until his death.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not establish that the appellant had a valid common law marriage with the veteran prior to October 1991 or that they lived together continuously from their alleged start of cohabitation in 1982 until the veteran's death in December 2001.
- Claimed conditions
- Not specified in this decision
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 22, 2007
- Citation
- 0701742
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 0701742.
What this means for you
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