The Board has granted recognition as the Veteran's surviving spouse for purposes of VA benefits and remanded the issue of an earlier effective date for dependency and indemnity compensation for the Veteran’s child.
The deciding factor: The appellant was unaware that California did not recognize common law marriage, but she cohabitated with the Veteran for 13 months prior to his death and a child was born from this union. The Board resolved reasonable doubt in her favor and found her relationship with the Veteran valid as a deemed marriage.
- 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 2, 2018
- Citation
- 18115600
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 18115600.
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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