Q: My husband passed away October 15, 2017 and is retired from the City of Dallas. When requesting survivorship benefits I was initially denied because we were married after he retired – when I pointed out we were common law married over 20 years, they then claimed he had a 10 year certain policy and I was not eligible for benefits because he had been retired for over 10 years, but will not show me a copy of the policy to verify this change in their statement. My husband has stated many times over the years he had full survivorship coverage on his policy. What I can I do to see the policy, and if full not a 10 year policy, claim common law marriage since their rules seem to have changed as of 01/01/2018 and will no longer recognize common law when in 2017 they would?? I have been trying to resolve this November 2017, when common law was still recognized by the City of Dallas according to new laws in 2015 in Texas. – – I am currently living in Michigan, but am looking for a TX attorney to help.

A: If they won’t provide information or documentation with a death certificate, you may have to file an heirship determination proceeding to establish your status as the spouse. If I am not mistaken, Texas law presumes there was no marriage if you don’t file suit to enforce your interests within one-year of death, so you need to act soon. Common law marriage is allowed in Texas, but it is not always easy to establish in court. It could be even more complicated if he resided outside of Texas at the time of his death (unless Michigan also allows common law marriage). I would try to find a probate attorney in Texas who talks about common law marriage on his/her website and also has experience with probate litigation. The first thing to determine will be whether you can file in Texas or if you have to file in the state where he resided at death.