The Board denied DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 because the appellant and Veteran did not meet the eligibility criteria for VA death benefits, as their marriage was not valid due to it occurring after the expiration of 15 years from the termination of the Veteran's service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the appellant and Veteran were not in a valid common law marriage prior to their October 2013 marriage, which did not last for one year or more at the time of the Veteran’s death.
- Claimed conditions
- Not specified in this decision
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 25, 2019
- Citation
- 19132531
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,050 · Granted: 32% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 19132531.
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