Gary Studs' same sex spouse was denied federal pension death benefits on the basis of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. He was not a legal spouse according to that legislation. What do people think of this? I have a close friend who retired from the feds a year ago. He had been common-law married to his opposite sex spouse for about 30yrs. A few weeks before he retired he learned that his wife would not be eligible for any of his pension benefits because his Colorado common law marriage was not recognized by the feds for purposes of pension benefits. They had to go to the courthouse and get 'married' by a judge after being married for 30yrs in order for her to gain eligibility.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13