37 U.S.C. § 423 — Validity of allowance payments based on purported marriages

A payment of an allowance, based on a purported marriage, that is made under this chapter, under the Career Compensation Act of 1949, or under the Pay^* Readjustment Act of 1942, before judicial annulment or termination of that marriage, is valid, if a court of competent jurisdiction adjudges or decrees that the marriage was entered into in good faith on the part of the spouse who is a member^* of a uniformed service or if, in the absence of such a judgment or decree, such a finding of good faith is made by the Secretary concerned^* or by a person designated by him to investigate the matter.