New York State Appeals Court Rules Survivor Of Same Sex Marriage Performed In Canada Can Inherit As Spouse

An appeals court in New York ruled Thursday that a survivor of same sex marriage can inherit as a spouse, according to the Associated Press. Although same-sex couples cannot wed in New York State, J. Craig Leiby and H. Kenneth Ranftle were legally married in Canada, therefore Leiby is entitled to recognition as the surviving spouse in a dispute over Ranftle's estate, the appellate judges said in upholding a lower court's decision. Leiby and Ranftle married in Montreal on June 7th, 2008, after being together for nearly 25 years, according to court papers. Financial and professional services employees, the two resided and worked in New York City. Ranftle died of lung cancer Nov. 1, 2008, according to an obituary notice. One of Ranftle's brothers, Richard, sought to contest the will and challenged the legitimacy of the marriage, saying it violated public policy in New York. The will left most of the estate to Leiby, with bequests to Richard Ranftle, other brothers and a goddaughter. "New York's long-settled marriage recognition rule affords comity to out-of-state marriages" that are valid where they are made, the state Supreme Court's Appellate Division wrote. There are exceptions for marriages that violate New York statutes or "natural law," sometimes interpreted to mean such situations as polygamy and incest. But "same-sex marriage does not fall within either of the two exceptions," the appeals judges wrote. Susan Sommer, the senior counsel for the gay rights advocacy organization Lambda Legal, which represented Leiby, said that the case marks the first time a New York appeals court has afforded recognition to same-sex spouses for inheritance purposes, and added that the ruling "is a decision that helps put to rest the idea that out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples could be vulnerable to attack from private parties. Family members cannot come in and try to pretend there was no marriage and interfere with the private choices the deceased spouse, Mr. Ranftle, made about protecting and leaving his estate to Mr. Leiby."