Due to this nation’s patchwork laws relating to same-sex marriage many couples are forced to contend with legal battles over inheritance of property and assets when one of them dies. This is just what Jennifer Tobits, who was married to Sarah Ellyn Farley in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 2006, has had to do.
The couple lived in Chicago, where Farley was a partner at Cozen O’Connor. When Farley, who was 37, died of cancer last September, her parents, David and Joan, claimed the rights to their daughter’s profit-sharing account at the law firm. Tobits says that she is entitled to money since she was married to Farley and is her next of kin.
Cozen O’Connor has recently filed an interpleader action (Cozen O’Connor, P.C. v. Tobits et al.) in the United States District Court Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the state where the law firm is headquartered. An interpleader action is a legal procedure that is used in court when two parties stake a claim for the property or money of a mutual third party. Robert Fiebach, who works at Cozen O’Connor’s headquarters in Philadelphia, told Windy City Times that they “view themselves as a stakeholder and want the court to decide who get the proceeds if the two parties, Tobits or Farley’s parents, can’t resolve it themselves.”
The issue involves not only the legality of Farley and Tobits’ marriage, but also the beneficiary form that Farley’s parents claim has designated them as heirs to the profit-sharing account. Farley’s parents say that their daughter named them as heirs to her money just before she died but the law firm says that if you designate someone other than your spouse then the spouse must sign the form releasing their claim to the money.
In this case the firm said that Tobits never signed the form. The firm wants the court to determine if the form is valid without Tobits’ signature. If it is determined that the form is invalid, then the dispute moves to the larger question of whether the court will recognize Farley and Tobits’ marriage and give Farley’s assets to Tobits and not Farley’s parents.
This case is still in the preliminary stages so the outcome will not be known for quite some time. Meanwhile, courts across the country will have to contend with these types of cases until same-sex marriage is legal across the United States. The question still remains: Is a legal same-sex marriage in Canada legal in the United States and what does that mean for the future of inheritance rights for same-sex couples?