The appellant's claim for recognition as the surviving spouse of the Veteran is denied because they were legally divorced at the time of his death and did not have a deemed valid or de facto marriage.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not establish that the appellant and the Veteran had an actual marriage following their divorce, despite their warm relationship and care provided to each other during the Veteran's terminal illness.
- 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 14, 2010
- Citation
- 1002332
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 1002332.
What this means for you
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