Are eligibility requirements for VA death pension met if a spouse was married for less than a year when the veteran died?

The correct answer is that eligibility requirements for VA death pension are not met if a spouse was married for less than a year at the time of the veteran's death. The VA requires a minimum duration of marriage to establish eligibility for the death pension. Specifically, if the marriage occurs less than one year before the veteran’s passing, the surviving spouse does not meet the criteria for entitlement to the pension based solely on the duration of the marriage.

In this case, the duration of the marriage is a critical factor for establishing eligibility. The VA has set these parameters to ensure that there has been a significant marital relationship, which reflects a deeper commitment between the veteran and the spouse. This requirement is designed to protect against claimants who might enter into marriages solely to gain access to benefits.

While other factors such as wartime service and income levels are important in other contexts, they do not alter the importance of the marriage duration requirement in this specific scenario. Thus, the requirement linked directly to the duration of marriage is the primary consideration here, leading to the conclusion that eligibility is not satisfied if the marriage lasted less than one year.