The Veteran and the appellant were legally married for less than one year prior to the Veteran's death. The Board found that they did not enter into a common law marriage or hold themselves out as married, thus failing to meet the criteria for recognition as the surviving spouse for VA purposes.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not reflect that the appellant and the Veteran entered into a common law marriage prior to their legal marriage in May 2022.
- Claimed conditions
- Not specified in this decision
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 21, 2023
- Citation
- A23032986
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 A23032986.
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