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Denied

The Board has determined that the appellant is not entitled to recognition as the surviving spouse of the Veteran for VA benefit purposes due to a 1979 divorce from the appellant in California, which was recognized under Philippine law.

The deciding factor: The Regional Counsel concluded that the 1979 divorce from the appellant was valid under Philippine law and thus rendered the appellant not legally married to the Veteran at the time of his death.

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 24, 2012
Citation
1202578

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 1202578.

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