Straight PA Couple Illegally “Married” for 50 years
Suddenly Frank and Betty Skrout found themselves in the same boat as many same-sex couples — in a catholic church 49 years ago, they were joined in holy matrimony, but the late priest never filed the paperwork. Now, the couple face a major problem as they try to prove their marriage in the eyes of the law and Betty’s former Union, and facing the same uncertainty over whether or not they’d be able to receive the litany of benefits and protections available to opposite-sex couples.
For now, the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Tribune-Democrat reports, the couple aren’t too concerned, but the county registrar is — if the local catholic diocese can’t find the marriage documents in its records, the county cannot certify the marriage. In limbo are the future of the couple’s automatic, tax-free inheritance of retirement savings and shared assets if either Frank or Betty should die before they are able to re-file for marriage, putting them in the same boat as local same-sex couples whose partnership is not legally recognized by states like Minnesota.
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