“Their “informal marriage” did not meet requirements for a legal marriage in Texas. Case closed.”
My only interest was whether the fire chief knew his situation with respect to his “wife”. It seems he did. Whether the marriage is legal is rather boring given the details of this story. As far as I remember the life insurance beneficiary was his “wife” the he/she. Given that you can prove he knowingly married, lived with and elected he/she as his beneficiary I don’t see how they cannot award the funds to he/she. The marriage question is inconsequential to the legal status of the life insurance contract. He/she wins the dough.
Why should an insurance company be forced to pay if it was based on a fraud?
The homosexual lobby is trying to defeat Texas’ marriage laws the same way they overruled the sodomy law, through the courts.
If the firefighter named “it” as his beneficiary, then the marriage question is moot. You can name anyone as your beneficiary for life insurance, although in community property states, you need your spouse’s permission if you name anyone other than him/her.
But if the firefighter never named “it” as the beneficiary, or if this is about other spousal benefits, then the legality of the marriage becomes an issue.