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Denied

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for his spouse's addition as a dependent was denied because the evidence did not demonstrate an intent to file benefits prior to March 1, 2020 or within one year of the date of marriage.

The deciding factor: No dependency claim was filed by the Veteran until February 2020, which is more than one year after his marriage to T. The effective date for the award of benefits is therefore set at March 1, 2020.

Claimed conditions
Not specified in this decision
How they argued it
Not specified
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
January 15, 2026
Citation
A26004026

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 A26004026.

What this means for you

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