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Remanded (sent back)

The Board has determined that the appellant cannot be recognized as the Veteran's surviving spouse due to a divorce during his lifetime and separations not attributable to fault of the appellant. The case is being remanded for further investigation into these issues.

The deciding factor: There was no evidence found indicating whether the Veteran and the appellant had divorced during his lifetime, nor could it be determined if any separations were due to the misconduct of the Veteran without the fault of the appellant.

Claimed conditions
Not specified in this decision
How they argued it
Not specified
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
May 18, 2016
Citation
1620171

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 1620171.

What this means for you

A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.

What you can do next

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