Woman Can Get Married To Dead Man, Utah Supreme Court Rules

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The Utah Supreme Court says two people can get married even if one of them is dead.

The high court on Tuesday ruled Janetta Gardiner can solemnize her relationship with her boyfriend of three years.

Seventy-eight-year-old John Vanderwerff died without any children in 2010, and named Gardiner in his will.

But four of his cousins argue the relationship didn't fit the definition of a common-law marriage. A judge agreed she didn't properly inform his estate of the union and tossed the marriage declaration.

But the state Supreme Court overturned that decision in an opinion released Tuesday, ruling that Gardiner was in control of the estate at the time and waived the requirement.

The high court reinstated the posthumous marriage.

Utah