The Veteran's surviving spouse status was denied for VA death benefits due to the marriage not meeting the legal requirements, including being less than a year before his death and California not recognizing common law marriages.
The deciding factor: The appellant did not satisfy the legal requirements for recognition as the Veteran’s 'surviving spouse' for VA death 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
- December 20, 2018
- Citation
- 18159776
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 18159776.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
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