Judge declares longtime lesbian couple in Utah legally married months after 1 partner's death
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Bonnie Foerster and Beverly Grossaint were legally married last week about three months after Groissant’s death at 82.
Foerster, 74, told the Salt Lake Tribune she is “numb from happiness” after Judge Patrick Corum granted her posthumous marriage petition on Aug. 21. The couple had been together for 50 years. The Washington Post and the Associated Press also have coverage.
Though posthumous marriages are rare, the Utah Supreme Court previously reinstated a posthumous marriage. That 2014 ruling found fault with a lower court’s decision to allow the deceased partner’s cousins to challenge the decision. The surviving partner, Janetta Gardiner, wanted the marriage for religious reasons, her lawyer told the Deseret News at the time.
In 1988, an appeals court in Florida found a deceased man’s son had standing to contest a posthumous marriage obtained without notice to the son. Cecelia Kleiman had sought the marriage after the death of Isaac Woginiak. The couple had married in a religious ceremony, but didn’t get a marriage license before Woginiak died of a heart attack, according to coverage at the time by UPI. Kleiman had sought to inherit her partner’s estate as a spouse.
Utah law allows a partner to seek a posthumous marriage within a year of a partner’s death or the end of the relationship, according to the Post.
Corum cited several reasons for recognizing the marriage. They included: the couple had lived in a single household; had pooled their finances; had helped support each other; and were treated as married by family, friends and neighbors.
Foerster says Grossaint helped care for her during 29 back surgeries, breast and cervical cancer, the loss of her eyesight, and a rare bone infection that led to the amputation of her legs. In the last three years, Foerster helped care for Grossaint when she suffered from emphysema and heart disease.
The couple had discussed marriage but put off the idea when Grossaint’s health detoriated, according to Bishop Terry Elkington of Salt Lake City. “They were so close and perfect for each other,” Elkington told the Washington Post.
Foerster told the Post she will inherit Grossaint’s belongings because of the decision, but there won’t be any other financial benefit. Her lawyer, Roger Hoole, is a longtime friend of Foerster’s.
“This isn’t a political thing for me,—I just thought that their relationship should be recognized,” Hoole told the Post. “Regardless of the position one takes on these matters, it’s difficult not to be happy for someone whose five-decade relationship is recognized legally after the long struggle they’ve been through.”
