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Remanded (sent back)

The Veteran's death benefits claim for DIC is remanded due to the lack of awareness regarding a possible common law marriage before his ceremonial marriage, which could affect the validity of their relationship.

The deciding factor: VA failed to consider whether there was an earlier common-law marriage that would have been valid under VA regulations if the appellant had not been unaware of Arkansas's prohibition on such marriages at the time.

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 15, 2024
Citation
A24065503

Veterans Law Judge

M. Tenner

Decisions by this judge: 1,455 · Granted: 23% (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 A24065503.

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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