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Denied

The Board denied the appellant's claim of being recognized as the Veteran's surviving spouse for VA purposes due to a lack of continuous cohabitation from the date of their alleged common law marriage until the Veteran's death in 1992.

The deciding factor: The appellant and the Veteran did not live continuously together until the date of the Veteran's death, which is required for recognition as a surviving spouse for VA purposes.

Claimed conditions
Not specified in this decision
How they argued it
Not specified
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
June 5, 2015
Citation
1524021

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 1524021.

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