The Board denied an earlier effective date for the grant of spousal dependency benefits, finding that the earliest possible effective date (July 1, 2015) was assigned and thus no legal merit exists for the appeal.
The deciding factor: The claim for dependency benefits was filed on June 12, 2015, which is the earliest date of receipt of a formal or informal claim. The Veteran did not provide evidence of his marriage to his spouse within one year of the October 2004 rating decision and November 2004 notification letter.
- Claimed conditions
- Not specified in this decision
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 29, 2019
- Citation
- 19167370
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 19167370.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.