The Board denied the appellant's claim to be recognized as the Veteran's surviving spouse for VA death benefits because she did not provide sufficient evidence of a valid marriage, and her reported common law marriage was not recognized in Puerto Rico.
The deciding factor: The appellant failed to meet the requirements under 38 C.F.R. § 3.52(b) that she entered into the marriage without knowledge of the impediment (that common law marriages are not recognized in Puerto Rico).
- Claimed conditions
- Not specified in this decision
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 21, 2019
- Citation
- 19179721
Veterans Law Judge
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 19179721.
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