The appellant was not recognized as the surviving spouse of the veteran because there was no evidence that a common law marriage existed between them.
The deciding factor: The evidence failed to show an agreement or mutual consent, public recognition, cohabitation, and assumption of marital duties and obligations.
- 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 23, 2009
- Citation
- 0902384
Veterans Law Judge
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 0902384.
What this means for you
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