The Board has determined that the appellant's claim of having a valid common law marriage with the Veteran prior to March 2008 needs further development and reconsideration. The VA will need to gather additional evidence, including signed statements from the appellant regarding her knowledge of the legal impediment in 1988, and any supporting documents showing shared addresses.
The deciding factor: The validity of the common law marriage is at issue due to the lack of a formal marriage certificate and the requirement that the marriage must have been valid under the law of the place where the parties resided at the time of marriage. The appellant needs to provide evidence of her knowledge of the legal impediment in 1988 and any shared addresses.
- 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 10, 2018
- Citation
- 18117271
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 18117271.
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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