The Veteran's death was less than one year after the appellant and the Veteran were married under New York State law. The appellant is not recognized as the surviving spouse for purposes of receiving DIC benefits due to lack of a valid marriage in accordance with New York State law.
The deciding factor: The relationship between the appellant and the Veteran did not meet the definition of 'marriage' in New York State prior to December [redacted], 2007, and no other laws or regulations apply in this case.
- Claimed conditions
- Not specified in this decision
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 2, 2013
- Citation
- 1310765
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 1310765.
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