The Veteran's death certificate listed his marital status as 'divorced.' The appellant, who was legally divorced from the Veteran in September 2008, attempted to argue that she should be considered his surviving spouse due to her continued care of him after their divorce. However, the Board found that her divorce prevented her from being recognized as a surviving spouse for purposes of DIC benefits.
The deciding factor: The appellant was legally divorced from the Veteran in September 2008 and thus could not meet the legal requirement of being married to the Veteran at the time of his death for eligibility to DIC benefits.
- 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 30, 2015
- Citation
- 1504524
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 1504524.
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