A New York Appellate Court (Appellate Division, First Dept) in Matter of Ranftle ruled on February 24, 2011 that a survivor of a same-sex marriage can inherit as a spouse.
Lambda Legal, a gay-rights legal group, called it the first appellate decision of its kind in New York.
Same-sex couples cannot wed in New York; however, J. Craig Leiby and H. Kenneth Ranftle were legally married in Canada in 2008 after being together for almost 25 years. The Appellate Court ruled that Leiby is entitled to recognition as the surviving spouse.
One of Ranftle's brothers, Richard, sought to contest the Will, based on a challenge to the legitimacy of the marriage. Richard Ranftle contended that the recognition of the marriage 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 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.
New York court decisions have recognized such marriages in cases arising in other contexts, such as health benefits. The Leiby case appears to mark the first time a New York appeals court has recognized a same-sex spouses for inheritance purposes.
