The Board has decided that the appellant cannot be considered the valid surviving spouse of the Veteran for VA benefits purposes and is remanding the case to allow the appellant another opportunity to provide evidence supporting her claim.
The deciding factor: The appellant did not submit evidence in support of a common law marriage after their formal divorce, which was required by the RO's request 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
- September 8, 2022
- Citation
- 22051147
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 22051147.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
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