The Board denied the appellant's claim for recognition as the surviving spouse of the Veteran, finding that they did not form a valid marriage under Florida law and VA regulations. The appellant was therefore not eligible for VA DIC, death pension, or accrued benefits.
The deciding factor: The appellant and the Veteran never held themselves out to the public as husband and wife, and there is no evidence of an attempted common-law marriage that would be deemed valid by VA standards.
- Claimed conditions
- Not specified in this decision
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 18, 2011
- Citation
- 1130647
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 1130647.
What this means for you
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