The Board has found that the Appellant is the Veteran's surviving spouse for VA survivor benefits purposes. However, the RO error of not considering the October 2023 statement and thus not affording the Appellant survivor spouse status occurred prior to the date of the RO's decision on appeal. The matter is REMANDED for the RO to adjudicate the Appellant's survivor benefits claims.
The deciding factor: The RO made a pre-decisional duty to assist error by not considering the October 2023 statement in its decision, which stated that the Appellant had no knowledge or documentation about the Veteran's past marriages.
- 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 31, 2024
- Citation
- A24070551
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 719 · Granted: 54% (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 A24070551.
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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