The Board has determined that J.M. can be recognized as the Veteran's surviving spouse for VA purposes due to her continuous cohabitation with him from their attempted marriage in July 1993 until his death in March 2011, and no other claimant is entitled to gratuitous VA benefits.
The deciding factor: The Board found J.M.'s statements credible that she was unaware of the legal impediment to her marriage to the Veteran due to his prior marriage to S.H., leading to a finding that their attempted July 1993 marriage can be deemed valid for VA purposes.
- 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 19, 2024
- Citation
- 24033128
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,990 · Granted: 35% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
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 24033128.
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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