You are using an unsupported browser. This web site is designed for the current versions of Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Safari.
The Office of the Federal Register publishes documents on behalf of Federal agencies but does not have any authority over their programs. We recommend you directly contact the agency associated with the content in question.
If you have comments or suggestions on how to improve the www.ecfr.gov website or have questions about using www.ecfr.gov, please choose the 'Website Feedback' button below.
If you would like to comment on the current content, please use the 'Content Feedback' button below for instructions on contacting the issuing agency
Enhanced content is provided to the user to provide additional context.
This content is from the eCFR and is authoritative but unofficial.
Navigate by entering citations or phrases (eg: 1 CFR 1.1 49 CFR 172.101 Organization and Purpose 1/1.1 Regulation Y FAR).
Choosing an item from citations and headings will bring you directly to the content. Choosing an item from full text search results will bring you to those results. Pressing enter in the search box will also bring you to search results.
Background and more details are available in the Search & Navigation guide.
The in-page Table of Contents is available only when multiple sections are being viewed.
Use the navigation links in the gray bar above to view the table of contents that this content belongs to.
38 U.S.C. 501(a), unless otherwise noted.
This content is from the eCFR and may include recent changes applied to the CFR. The official, published CFR, is updated annually and available below under "Published Edition". You can learn more about the process here.
Subscribe to: 38 CFR 3.52
No changes found for this content after 1/03/2017.
View the most recent official publication:
These links go to the official, published CFR, which is updated annually. As a result, it may not include the most recent changes applied to the CFR. Learn more.
Information and documentation can be found in our developer resources.
The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is the official legal print publication containing the codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the departments and agencies of the Federal Government. The Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR) is a continuously updated online version of the CFR. It is not an official legal edition of the CFR.
Learn more about the eCFR, its status, and the editorial process.
Nomenclature changes to part 3 appear at 61 FR 7216, Feb. 27, 1996; 62 FR 35970, July 3, 1997; 62 FR 47532, Sept. 9, 1997; and 67 FR 46868, July 17, 2002. 91 FR 2713, Jan. 22, 2026
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)), 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, 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.
(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 103(a))
Definition, marriage. See § 3.205(c).
[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]