Legal corpus: the complete U.S. Code (59,740 sections, all 53 titles)

Ingested titles 12–51 and 54 from OLRC USLM XML @119-100 (the whole Code
now, uniform edition; Title 53 is reserved/empty). LegalText 11,221 ->
59,740; repo total 105,704 records. Deterministic (byte-identical rerun,
verified on Title 42's 8,356 sections); make check green. make
legal-us-code default now covers every title.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

legal/us/code/title-38/chapter-51/section-5124.md

@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+---
+type: "LegalText"
+title: "38 U.S.C. § 5124"
+description: "Acceptance of claimant’s statement as proof of relationship"
+jurisdiction: "us"
+corpus: "united_states_code"
+kind: "code_section"
+title_number: 38
+title_name: "VETERANS’ BENEFITS"
+chapter_number: "51"
+chapter_name: "CLAIMS, EFFECTIVE DATES, AND PAYMENTS"
+section: "5124"
+citation: "38 U.S.C. § 5124"
+status: "current"
+release_point: "119-100"
+release_date: "2026-06-26"
+source: "official"
+source_url: "https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc38@119-100.zip"
+source_identifier: "/us/usc/t38/s5124"
+source_file: "data/legal/raw/us/code/title-38/usc38.xml"
+source_hash: "36bb3112b67a3fae078468da99b687434aab0fa971565168e1f7608bc4967220"
+raw_snapshot_hash: "372998691b72ade88787dfa7633dbda4954bd1b037ec7926c5e06e9b1d17fc66"
+text_hash: "20c65fe19af587fed10227d8ed69cf3b575025e81a6b4381b4dbe58d8f7494dd"
+retrieved_at: "2026-07-04"
+confidence: "official"
+tags: ["legal", "us-code"]
+---
+
+# 38 U.S.C. § 5124 - Acceptance of claimant’s statement as proof of relationship
+
+## Text
+
+(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.
+
+(Added Pub. L. 103–446, title III, § 301(a), Nov. 2, 1994, 108 Stat. 4657.)