---
kind: "section"
citation: "38 C.F.R. § 3.52"
title: "38"
number: "3.52"
heading: "Marriages deemed valid."
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/38/3.52"
---

# §3.52. Marriages deemed valid.


Where an attempted marriage of a claimant to the veteran was invalid by reason of a legal impediment, the marriage will nevertheless be deemed valid if:

- (a) The marriage occurred 1 year or more before the veteran died or existed for any period of time if a child was born of the purported marriage or was born to them before such marriage (see [§ 3.54(d)](/cfr/38/3.54.md?p=d)), and
- (b) The claimant entered into the marriage without knowledge of the impediment, and
- (c) The claimant cohabited with the veteran continuously from the date of marriage to the date of his or her death as outlined in [§ 3.53](/cfr/38/3.53.md), and
- (d) No claim has been filed by a legal surviving spouse who has been found entitled to gratuitous death benefits other than accrued monthly benefits covering a period prior to the veteran's death.

## Notes

### Amendments

[26 FR 1567, Feb. 24, 1961, as amended at 27 FR 1215, Feb. 9, 1962; 32 FR 13224, Sept. 19, 1967; 41 FR 18299, May 3, 1976]

### Authority

Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501(a), unless otherwise noted.

### Amendments

[26 FR 1567, Feb. 24, 1961, as amended at 27 FR 1215, Feb. 9, 1962; 32 FR 13224, Sept. 19, 1967; 41 FR 18299, May 3, 1976]