The Veteran and the appellant are considered married for VA death benefits purposes, despite their 1984 divorce.
The deciding factor: The testimony of the appellant and her daughter supported the fact that they held themselves out as man and wife, meeting the requirements for a common law marriage under Rhode Island law.
- Claimed conditions
- Not specified in this decision
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 25, 2016
- Citation
- 1629525
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 1629525.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
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