The Board denied the Appellant's claim for recognition as the Veteran's surviving spouse, which would have allowed her to receive VA DIC, survivor's pension, or accrued benefits.
The deciding factor: The evidence showed that the Appellant and the Veteran were divorced in 1980 and did not enter into a common-law marriage after their divorce. The Board found the Veteran's reports of being divorced and referring to the Appellant as his ex-wife to be more probative than statements made by the Appellant many years later.
- Claimed conditions
- Not specified in this decision
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 22, 2025
- Citation
- A25109867
Want to see how appeals like this one tend to go? Appeals like mine
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