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Wife Of Army Veteran Here

Bev.Choy

Asked by Bev.Choy,

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Bev.Choy Rookie

Bev.Choy

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Hello everyone :) Being new here, I'm not sure if this is the right place or not to be.

My husband and I have been married 9 years on the 17th of this month and we are still fighting with the VA for them to establish myself as my husbands wife. Because of a piece of paper dating back to '82 stating that my husband was "going through a divorce" instead of just breaking up with his girlfriend (there was no common law marriage), the VA has stated that they will not recognize me as his wife until they see a divorce or an annulment from his previous relationship. We have already had a lawyer check all state and county records and had him write to the VA that as there was no marriage, there can be no divorce or annullment.

The VA doesn't see it that way. When we appealed the denial, we didn't even get notification of when the appeal would be and so they denied our claim. We've done another NOD, but we're at a loss as to what to do or who to contact, besides the DAV.

Can anyone give advice or help us out here?

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jbasser Grand Master

jbasser

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Send the information to your congressman and ask them to intervene. 9 years is too long to wait.

I don't know if you can file suit in federal court but remember this. This is not a claim. This is an ancillary benefit and is not to be adjudicated. It really cannot be denied but can be held up pending qualification of the beneficiary.

These folks get something in their heads and and they wont change their minds unless you choke it out of them.

J

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Bev.Choy Rookie

Bev.Choy

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I'm confused, then, because they've already said it's been adjudicated and denied... maybe I'm just not comprehending.

As for the congressman, I suppose we could try them again. We went to them to get help and the best we got was a photocopy of the denial of claim on the grounds that we never showed up for the appeal. We never even got notification of when that was to take place and haven't a clue as to who we'd contact because of it. We'll go to the congressman again and see what they can do this time.

Thank you :)

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WhyMista Collaborator

WhyMista

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Welcome and your congressman/woman isn't likely to do any good. Myself and a few other Marines I know tried and it got nothing done.

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Berta Grand Master

Berta

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“When we appealed the denial, we didn't even get notification of when the appeal would be and so they denied our claim. We've done another NOD, but we're at a loss as to what to do or who to contact, besides the DAV. “

Is the 100% SC your comp or his?

Is this a question of the dependents allowance not being added to the comp check?

Claimants usually don't ever “show up” for an appeal. It is all done on paper.

Are you able to scan and attach here the last decision received from VA?

Or tell us exactly how they worded the denial? And date of that denial?

(cover names c file number etc first)

“We have already had a lawyer check all state and county records and had him write to the VA that as there was no marriage, there can be no divorce or annullment. “

When was that? Did they (VA) in any way acknowledge receipt of that info?

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Bev.Choy Rookie

Bev.Choy

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Is the 100% SC your comp or his?++ Its my husbands

Is this a question of the dependents allowance not being added to the comp check?++ Yes. They will see me in the VA hospital and treat me for free, but they won't accept me on the financial side.

Claimants usually don't ever “show up” for an appeal. It is all done on paper.++ We were told by the DAV that they sometimes have TV interviews with judges in DC to make a decision on the matter.

Are you able to scan and attach here the last decision received from VA?++I could scan it but it's basically just saying that the commonlaw marriage to this other woman was recognized by the VA. They then said they had sent us a Statement of the Case and gave us 60 days to respond, but we never recieved it.

Or tell us exactly how they worded the denial? And date of that denial?++The denial is dated Jul 10, 2012.

(cover names c file number etc first)++C 23 194 203

“We have already had a lawyer check all state and county records and had him write to the VA that as there was no marriage, there can be no divorce or annullment. “

When was that? Did they (VA) in any way acknowledge receipt of that info?++This was done about 8 years ago and the VA said that was only good enough for state law, not federal (whatever that is to mean).

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Bev.Choy Rookie

Bev.Choy

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Welcome and your congressman/woman isn't likely to do any good. Myself and a few other Marines I know tried and it got nothing done.

We've decided to go to the senator, Ted Cruz to see if we get help. The congressman sent us a photocopy of the denial and they closed 'the case' :(

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meghp0405 Mentor

meghp0405

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Hello everyone :) Being new here, I'm not sure if this is the right place or not to be.

My husband and I have been married 9 years on the 17th of this month and we are still fighting with the VA for them to establish myself as my husbands wife. Because of a piece of paper dating back to '82 stating that my husband was "going through a divorce" instead of just breaking up with his girlfriend (there was no common law marriage), the VA has stated that they will not recognize me as his wife until they see a divorce or an annulment from his previous relationship. We have already had a lawyer check all state and county records and had him write to the VA that as there was no marriage, there can be no divorce or annullment.

The VA doesn't see it that way. When we appealed the denial, we didn't even get notification of when the appeal would be and so they denied our claim. We've done another NOD, but we're at a loss as to what to do or who to contact, besides the DAV.

Can anyone give advice or help us out here?

I would obtain a letter from the county clerks office stating that there are no other marriages on record pertaining to your husband. have them put the county seal on it and send it back to the VAR and ask them to reconsider your previous denial.

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Bev.Choy Rookie

Bev.Choy

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I would obtain a letter from the county clerks office stating that there are no other marriages on record pertaining to your husband. have them put the county seal on it and send it back to the VAR and ask them to reconsider your previous denial.

We did do that and were told that was only good enough for the state, not for federal :(

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Bev.Choy Rookie

Bev.Choy

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The thing that really scares me is that my husbands heart is slowly dying. I've already been told that if he dies for any other reason than heart issues, I have no legal rights to go after his benefits. If he has a heart attack and dies, they can still stall me until I'm on the street.

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Tbird Grand Master

Tbird

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I would contact a an attorney who practices Veterans Law, Bergmann and Moore for example, there are others. You can call them and they will give you a free consultation. I have had good experience with them handling something on my claim, others may disagree, but that is my personal opinion as Tbird, it is not an official endorsement from HadIt.com.

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Bev.Choy Rookie

Bev.Choy

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I would contact a an attorney who practices Veterans Law, Bergmann and Moore for example, there are others. You can call them and they will give you a free consultation. I have had good experience with them handling something on my claim, others may disagree, but that is my personal opinion as Tbird, it is not an official endorsement from HadIt.com.

Thank you for the link! My husband has come to the conclusion that we need a lawyers help (not the DAV) and this could be what we need. Thanks again!

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broncovet Grand Master

broncovet

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Bev

You have been given good advice, as usual. I will add my 2 cents. I agree that a lawyer may be necessary.

You have 2 issues here. First is the appeal of the denial of dependency claim. The next is the "effective date" of dependency.

You can "reopen" a claim due to "new and material evidence" (38 CFR 3.156)

If you have evidence, such as a marriage cert then you could reopen it as such. Your effective date, however, would not be earlier than the date you reopened, if dependents were awarded.

For you to get dependents beneftis "back pay" will be more difficult, but a valid marriage certificate should "trump" a lay person's statement that "he is going through a divorce".

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Bev.Choy Rookie

Bev.Choy

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For you to get dependents beneftis "back pay" will be more difficult, but a valid marriage certificate should "trump" a lay person's statement that "he is going through a divorce".

We've sent them our marriage certificate 4 times....they just keep refusing to accept it :(

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Capt. Mentor

Capt.

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Hello and WELCOME aboard.....

I am so sorry that you have to go thru this but I believe you are in DIRE need of legal help ..... a lawyer.

I agree with what the others have said and also think that if your claim has reached a final decision and the case is closed you would as Bronco said have to reopen the claim. There may be a chance to have it CUED(Clear unmistakeable error) also if it has been Closed. This may be why they keep sending you closed issues when you reply to them and the Congressman is getting the same lame excuse from them so he can only go with what they are telling him or her.

For the most part Congressman are not of much help in Veterans claims. There are only a few here on the board that have had help.

As JBasser pointed out ...it is not suppose to be a claim but they seem to think it is. A dependent issue as he pointed out is ancillary. It is a benefit law nothing to do with a rating.

If they are seeing you for free at the hospital then there is something very amiss . This is going to have to be carefully done because of the smoke screen the VA is laying down causing this confusion.

Now one of the long shots and this one is a drastic measure .....is to get all of your evidence and try to hold a PRESS conference with your T.V station and don't forget to show your Congressman letters and responses. That may put a fire under the Congressman when cameras and questions are pointed to him and he couldn't do anything. Just a thought. But I know that a couple of our members have tried that too and it has worked for them.

Dependent issues are very common , I too am dealing with one , so I would keep very close guard on your records and timelines , deadline dates. Your main goal is to dig in , get that Lawyer ,,,,, and NEVER GIVE UP . God Bless, C.C.

Edited by Capt.Contaminate (see edit history)
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