The Board denied the veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of June 13, 2003, for additional nonservice connected (NSC) pension benefits based on his spouse's dependency. The decision stated that VA had no factual basis to make a finding of a valid marriage until the veteran provided sufficient information.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the effective date could not be earlier than June 13, 2003, as it was more than one year after the establishment of the common law marriage and VA received notice of the existence of a dependent spouse on this date.
- Claimed conditions
- Not specified in this decision
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 19, 2008
- Citation
- 0839719
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 0839719.
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
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