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Denied

The Board denied the appellant's claim for an effective date prior to October 1, 1998 for the initial grant of DIC benefits due to a change in law that allowed remarried surviving spouses whose marriages were terminated by death or divorce to be considered for DIC.

The deciding factor: The effective date is fixed based on the facts found and shall not be earlier than the effective date of the act or administrative issue, which was October 1, 1998.

Claimed conditions
Not specified in this decision
How they argued it
Not specified
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
September 16, 2008
Citation
0831647

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 0831647.

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