The Board found that the appellant and the Veteran were not married, thus denying her claim for recognition as the surviving spouse of the Veteran for VA benefits.
The deciding factor: There was no clear and convincing evidence to support a common law marriage between the appellant and the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- Not specified in this decision
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 28, 2017
- Citation
- 1760731
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 1760731.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
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