The Board has determined that the appellant does not meet the criteria to be recognized as the surviving spouse of the Veteran for VA death benefits due to lack of knowledge of a legal impediment and her inconsistent statements regarding the validity of their common-law marriage.
The deciding factor: The appellant's inconsistent statements regarding the validity of their common-law marriage, which she characterized as cohabitation rather than marriage, suggest awareness of a legal impediment until August 2008 when they entered into a legally recognized marriage.
- 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 29, 2011
- Citation
- 1143592
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 1143592.
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