The appellant is not recognized as the Veteran's surviving spouse for purposes of VA death benefits, including DIC benefits.
The deciding factor: The appellant remarried before December 16, 2004, which is a requirement for receiving VA death benefits. The claim was received after this deadline.
- Claimed conditions
- ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 27, 2012
- Citation
- 1215293
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1215293.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for a disability rating in excess of 100 percent for ALS with loss of use of bilateral lower extremities was dismissed due to the Veteran's death during the pendency of the appeal.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the claim for an earlier effective date for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that no earlier effective date can be assigned as a matter of law due to the appellant filing her initial claim on July 20, 2012.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the appellant's request to reopen her claim for service connection for cause of the Veteran’s death as new and material evidence was not submitted, and the evidence did not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's surviving spouse, who was not married to the Veteran for at least one year prior to his death, does not meet the eligibility criteria for DIC benefits.
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