After Husband’s Death, Widow Learns They Were Never Married and Cannot Claim Inheritance — Story of the Day

When her husband, Gary, died, Stella discovered that their marriage was never registered. So his son, Peter, was set to inherit everything. They had a horrible relationship, and Peter wanted to get revenge for not having a father in his life. But he saw a shocking letter in the study that changed everything.

“That’s not possible,” Stella said to her lawyer, Mr. Samberg.

“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Gilmore. But when a couple doesn’t get married, or in your case, there’s a mishap, they don’t get the same automatic benefits as a married couple,” Mr. Samberg said sympathetically.

“But it was not our mistake. They invalidated several marriage licenses years ago, and no one ever thought to notify us,” Stella continued.

“I know, Mrs. Gilmore. But that California county clerk was arrested for giving these licenses to couples who wanted to fake marriages for the sake of immigration, so that’s why they thought you did the same. I explained all that earlier,” the lawyer said, frustrated with the old woman now.

Stella’s husband, Gary, passed away a couple of weeks ago, and it was so sudden that neither of them made wills. She had to hire a lawyer to look into Gary’s estate and some legalities because they didn’t have kids, but Gary had a son, Peter, from a previous relationship. And Stella needed to know how that worked.

But Mr. Samberg discovered that their marriage had been annulled when the state found out that the county clerk had taken money to issue fake marriage licenses for the sake of immigration. No one thought to notify the couples, and although Stella and Gary were both American citizens by birth, they got caught in the crossfire.

“So what happens to me now?” Stella asked, feeling out of options.

“You’ll have to talk to Peter. By law, he’s Mr. Gilmore’s next-of-kin and gets to inherit everything,” Mr. Samberg said finally.

Stella left the lawyer’s office feeling frustrated. Gary did not have a great relationship with his son or his ex-girlfriend. Peter’s mother got pregnant after a few encounters between them, and she was bitter that Gary decided not to marry her. He wanted to do what was right for their kid but didn’t think they were compatible in any way.

He started paying child support and got visitation rights every other weekend for several years until Gary met Stella. That’s when Peter’s mother went crazy. As the...