The Board has determined that the appellant qualifies as the Veteran's surviving spouse for purposes of VA death benefits, given her continuous cohabitation with the Veteran and lack of knowledge about his current marriage.
The deciding factor: The appellant entered into a common-law marriage with the Veteran in 2009 without being aware of Kentucky's legal impediment to such marriages. She continuously cohabitated with him until his death, and no claim has been filed by a legal surviving spouse who would have entitled them to 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
- November 13, 2017
- Citation
- 1751676
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 1751676.
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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