[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 20, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 20CFR219.33]

[Page 233-234]
 
                      TITLE 20--EMPLOYEES' BENEFITS
 
                  CHAPTER II--RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD
 
PART 219_EVIDENCE REQUIRED FOR PAYMENT--Table of Contents
 
                   Subpart C_Evidence of Relationship
 
Sec. 219.33  Evidence of a deemed valid marriage.

    (a) Preferred evidence. Preferred evidence of a deemed valid 
marriage is--
    (1) Evidence of a ceremonial marriage as described in Sec. 219.31;
    (2) If both the employee and spouse are alive, the spouse's signed 
statement that he or she went through the ceremony in good faith and his 
or her reasons for believing the marriage was valid; or if the employee 
is dead, the widow or widower's signed statement to that effect;
    (3) If required to remove a reasonable doubt, the signed statements 
of other persons who have information about what the parties knew about 
any previous marriage or other facts showing whether the parties went 
through the marriage ceremony in good faith; and
    (4) Evidence that the parties were living in the same household when 
the employee applied for payments; or, if the employee is dead, when he 
or she died. See Sec. 219.51 for the evidence required to demonstrate 
living in the same household.

[[Page 234]]

    (b) Other evidence of a deemed valid marriage. If preferred evidence 
of a deemed valid marriage cannot be obtained, the claimant must explain 
the reason therefor and submit other convincing evidence of the 
marriage.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 
3220-0140)