This sort of thing was supposed to have ended when marriage equality was legalized, but apparently it’s a reality that queer couples must still face: when a partner dies, evil family members swooping in to seize the couple’s possessions with no regard for their decades-long relationship.
It used to be far more common. Without legal marriage equality, most LGBT couples had no protections. You could create complex legal arrangements to try to mimic the rights of marriage, but you could never come close. As a result, the worst years of the AIDS epidemic were compounded by surviving partners who lost their spouses and their homes.
Now it’s happening again in New York. Tom Doyle is the widower of Bill Cornwell. The two men never married, and when Bill died, his nieces and nephews decided that they should have the right to seize the home that the two men occupied. Bill left a will saying that the house should go to Tom, but it was only signed by one witness instead of two, so it’s technically invalid.
Even though Bill’s intent was clear, his rotten relatives don’t care. They called Tom a “friend” or “companion,” and are trying to make him leave.
His best chance at defeating them seems to be a tricky legal argument: back in the 1990s, the couple once visited a state that recognized common law marriage at the time, and as a result, he says, their relationship should have been considered a marriage. Oh boy, that really sounds like a stretch, legally-speaking.
Of course, many couples opt not to get married. You don’t need to have a document to have a meaningful relationship. But this sad saga is a reminder of just how important those legal protections are.
DCguy
And remember, Trump has stated that he would appoint judges who will roll back the recent civil rights gains LGBT’s have made. And Log Cabin and other gay republicans support him and claim he is pro-lgbt.
They support a situation where stories like this would continue to be the norm.
Heywood Jablowme
The photo shows a wedding ring but as the article says, they were NOT married and that’s the whole problem. The photo choices on Queerty really are weird sometimes.
Heywood Jablowme
This could happen to any straight couple too, if they were too shortsighted to get married and/or they couldn’t even be bothered to find out how to do a proper will. This stuff is not rocket science.
1EqualityUSA
Totally. Even a will would cover it.
Bob LaBlah
This is a powerful subject in a clearly half-assed article. No age of the widower nor his mate once he died? Shameful. But hey, we got what we paid for, huh?
Chris
New York provides for common law marriage. So it’s not a stretch to argue that, once marriage was legalized, so was common law marriage.
crowebobby
We’ve been hearing about relatives repudiating gays’ partners on a weekly basis since of the middle of the AIDS crisis. How can intelligent, educated gays still not realize they have to have an iron clad will if they want their partner to inherit property and/or have any say in their funeral arrangements. No matter how well you get along with your relatives, this is just common sense. Meanwhile, of course I hope Doyle wins.
MacAdvisor
Some facts about common law marriage.
Chris: New York recognizes common law marriage in the sense that *IF* one has become married through common law marriage in another state and moves to New York, the marriage remains valid. However, and this is the real answer to your comment, New York, as with most states, does not permit a marriage to be established through common law. Thus, the couple never established a marriage in New York and never could have.
For common law marriage, the parties must intend their relationship to be, and to be regarded as, a legally valid marriage; they must hold themselves out as a married couple; and do so for the statutory length of time (typically from three to seven years depending on the state). Merely visiting a state would not create a common law marriage unless it was heck of a long visit. Additionally, until recently, a couple could not intend their cohabitation to a legally valid marriage as, in most states, same-sex marriages were not permissible. Thus, the supposed legal theory about common law marriage is just bunk.
The single best way for Mr. Doyle to protect his interest in his home is to obtain the services of a good estate lawyer. While the will may be technically invalid, most states and New York is one, will look to the testamentary intent of the deceased. Courts want to carry out the valid wishes of the owner of the property and will try to do so. I have trouble believing a probate court in New York state will rob Mr. Doyle of the property his beloved wanted him to have. At the very least, I trust the court would create a life estate for Mr. Doyle to occupy the house.
everybodywinsyay
Not a gay issue and assuming “evil” relatives without knowing all of the facts. This is a narrative not anywhere near a factual story.
Billy Budd
Here in Brazil the judge would have made the fair and just decision. The partner would have got the apartment. Our laws recognizes long term relationships where people live together as “stable relationships” and treats them as marriages. The family of the deceased would have got nothing and the gay guy would have won.