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Denied

The Board denied the appellant's claim of recognition as a surviving spouse for purposes of death and indemnity compensation (DIC) benefits due to lack of continuous cohabitation with the Veteran in West Virginia, where he resided after May 2010.

The deciding factor: There is no credible evidence that the appellant cohabitated with the Veteran in West Virginia after their divorce, despite his indication of living there and her claim of shared residence.

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 18, 2018
Citation
18111722

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 18111722.

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