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Granted

The Board recognized the appellant as the lawful spouse of the Veteran at the time of his death and found that she lived with him continuously from the date of marriage to the date of his death, thus granting her recognition as his surviving spouse for purposes of receiving DIC benefits.

The deciding factor: The evidence showed a common law marriage between the appellant and the Veteran after their divorce in 2006, which was recognized by friends, neighbors, family members, financial documents, and VA treatment records.

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 26, 2022
Citation
22060243

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 22060243.

What this means for you

A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.

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