S.C
The latest claimant applied for handicapped widow’s insurance advantages to the worker’s money record, nevertheless Assistant denied her app once the claimant failed to meet up with the nine-day stage-of-marriage demands from inside the 42 U. 416(c). This denial are kept of the section judge. The latest claimant following appealed to your U.S. Courtroom out-of Appeals with the Very first Circuit. The fresh new judge out-of appeals indexed one Puerto Rico doesn’t admit common-legislation marriages and that the needs for setting-up a valid relationship for the Puerto Rico are ready forward into the Post 69 of your Civil Password, 30 L.P.Roentgen.An excellent. § 231. The brand new judge learned that, in this case, the needs of Article 69 was in fact certainly maybe not found 9 months prior to the worker’s death. This new courtroom next discovered that new claimant’s constitutional “equivalent defense” attack into 9-times duration-of-wedding specifications is actually incorrect significantly less than Weinberger v. Salfi, 422 You.S. 749, 95 S.Ct. 2457, forty-five L.Ed.2d 522 (1975), and you will Mathews v. de- Castro, 429 You.S. 181, 97 S.Ct. 431, 50 L.Ed.2d 389 (1976). New claimant and additionally argued you to definitely, while the she are the worker’s concubine, she had the right around Puerto Rican legislation to inherit off the brand new worker’s house because his widow, and she are going to be considered getting the new widow of your own staff member below 42 U. 416(h)(1)(A). The brand new legal off is attractive found that, significantly less than Puerto Rican laws, good concubine from a worker enjoys a straight to a percentage of the property received over the course of concubinage however, do n’t have a directly to inherit an effective widow’s show of one’s lifeless worker’s intestate individual assets. Ergo, new claimant could not getting deemed becoming brand new widow out-of the latest staff member below 42 You. 416(h)(1)(A) by applying of what the law states out-of Puerto Rico on intestate succession. When you look at the upholding the region court’s decision affirming the brand new Secretary’s assertion out of this allege to own widow’s experts, new courtroom away from is attractive kept that the claimant wasn’t entitled in order to benefits as handicapped widow of one’s staff member.
She debated you to definitely, because the she while the personnel got cohabited to own 20 years prior to the go out of its ceremonial relationship, its cohabitation got transformed their relationship into the an appropriate marriage well before the nine-month months
Appellant Esther Ayuso Morales sought for Societal Defense handicap gurus depending their particular status since “widow” of the covered worker Honorio Montanez Figueroa. Around 42 You. § 416(c) so you can meet the requirements once the a great “widow” a female should have become married for around nine days at the time of their unique husband’s passing. Appellant’s wedding took place inside 9-month months. Professionals was in fact declined.
On the notice, she appetite one to this woman is however eligible because the she cohabited kissbrides.com visite o site aqui with their own partner to own twenty years just before their wedding. She contributes one, anyhow, around 42 You. § 416(h)(1)(A) an applicant are a beneficial widow in the event the she’d, “according to the rules . . . [from Puerto Rico] deciding new devolution out-of intestate private assets, have a similar condition . . . because the a spouse . . . [or] widow. . . .” See essentially, Rombauer, Relationship Reputation and you will Eligibility to own Federal Statutory Income Masters: An old Survey, 52 Wash.L.Rev. 227, 257 ainsi que. seq. (1977). She says that concubinage rules from Puerto Rico gets their such as for instance condition.
We can’t deal with appellant’s very first disagreement. We understand that some common legislation jurisdictions know non-ceremonial or “common law marriages.” Such marriage ceremonies are created from the agree of your functions due to the fact virtually any price. F.W. Kuchlar, Legislation away from Engagement and you may Wedding step 1-5 (2d ed. 1978); discover O.Elizabeth. Koegel, Common-law ent in america (1922). However, common law marriages are not recognized from inside the Puerto Rico. The fresh new requisites from a legitimate relationships inside the Puerto Rico are prepared forward from inside the Blog post 69 of one’s Civil Code, 29 L.P.R.A good. § 231. Integrated of those requisites ‘s the “[a]uthorization and you can event off a good matrimonial package depending on the forms and solemnities recommended for legal reasons.” Throughout the lack of these types of versions and you can solemnities, you will find zero matrimony. Rivera v. Region Legal away from San Juan, 58 P.Roentgen.R. 352, 354 (1941); Vazquez Bote, Notas sobre el matrimonio en derecho puertoriqueno, 49-56 Rev. P.Roentgen. 491, 493-94, 510-12 (1973-75). Age. Lalaguana Dominguez, Estudios de derecho matrimonial 244-forty-five (1962).