[Appeal of Settlement of Death Gratuity Payment]

An individual appealed a Claims Group settlement concerning payment of the death gratuity due the survivor of a deceased Navy member. Her claim had been denied on the ground that she had not been legally married to the decedent and, therefore, she was not the surviving spouse entitled to the gratuity. The member had married a total of eight times over an 8-year period, but there was no evidence of a divorce decree from any of the last three marriages. Subsequent to the member's death, claims for payment of the death gratuity were made by the sixth, seventh, and eighth wives. The Claims Group determined that the seventh wife was the legal spouse and was entitled to the payment. The claim of the sixth wife was denied on the ground that her marriage to the decedent was void under applicable state law because the marriage occurred prior to the member's divorce from his fifth wife. The eighth wife, the claimant in this case, contended that she was entitled to a share of the death gratuity on the ground that she was a good-faith putative spouse. Since there was no legal record of a divorce dissolving the seventh marriage, the seventh wife must be considered the legal widow entitled to the payment. Although the applicable state law permits a good-faith putative spouse to take an equal share in the civil effects of a putative marriage, there is no authority in federal law which would permit payment of the gratuity to a putative spouse, even if she married the member in good faith without knowing of his prior marriage and without discovering the truth until after his death. Therefore, GAO affirmed the action of the Claims Group allowing the claim of the seventh wife and precluding all other claims to the death gratuity.