38 U.S.C. § 5124
Section 5124 · Acceptance of claimants statement as proof of relationship
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 4 court decisions — leading case Skoczen v. Shinseki (2009)
Most recently applied in Skoczen v. Shinseki (May 2009)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) For purposes of benefits under laws administered by the Secretary, the Secretary may accept the written statement of a claimant as proof of the existence of any relationship specified in subsection (b) for the purpose of acting on such individual's claim for benefits.
(b) Subsection (a) applies to proof of the existence of any of the following relationships between a claimant and another person:
(1) Marriage.
(2) Dissolution of a marriage.
(3) Birth of a child.
(4) Death of any family member.
(c) The Secretary may require the submission of documentation in support of the claimant's statement if—
(1) the claimant does not reside within a State;
(2) the statement on its face raises a question as to its validity;
(3) there is conflicting information of record; or
(4) there is reasonable indication, in the statement or otherwise, of fraud or misrepresentation.