Over Ken Paxton’s objection, judge OKs gay marriage settlement
Turning aside objections from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Travis County judge approved an out-of-court settlement Tuesday that recognizes the eight-year relationship of two Austin women as a common-law marriage.
The settlement accepted by Travis County Probate Judge Guy Herman ended an estate fight between Sonemaly Phrasavath and family members of the woman soon to be legally acknowledged as her wife — Stella Powell, who died of cancer in June 2014.
Reached last week with the help of a mediator, the agreement divided Powell’s estate roughly in half between Phrasavath and members of Powell’s family. It also acknowledged Phrasavath as Powell’s spouse from a common-law or informal marriage — a legal distinction that doesn’t require a marriage license.
An Oct. 5 hearing has been set to formally declare Phrasavath as Powell’s heir due to marriage — the first common-law marriage finding for a same-sex couple in Texas history, lawyers said.
Read more: http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/over-ken-paxton-objection-judge-oks-gay-marriage-s/nnfyj/?icmp=statesman_internallink_referralbox_free-to-premium-referral
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