The Board denied the appellant's claim for recognition as the surviving spouse of her deceased veteran husband, finding that she was not married to him at the time of his death and thus did not meet the legal requirements for surviving spouse status.
The deciding factor: The evidence showed that the Veteran and appellant had separated in 1999 with no intention to reconcile on the Veteran's part, as evidenced by the ultimate dissolution of their marriage in January 2011. The Board found that there was no continuous cohabitation between them following the divorce.
- 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, 2019
- Citation
- 19195674
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 19195674.
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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