Natural order restored: gay guy inherits furniture and artworks
A few months ago there was a story about a South African man’s partner who was suing over inheritance rights. The parents have settled:
The parents of a deceased property dealer have agreed to give his home, furniture and several of his valuable art works to a French chef whose serious romantic involvement with their son they had previously denied.
And James Middleton and his wife, Joan, retired parents of Phillip Middleton, have agreed to contribute R250 000 towards the legal costs that Dominique Ripoll-Dausa had to pay to dispute their denial that he and their son had been involved in a “life partnership”.
It’s hard to tell whether they came around to recognizing the relationship or just didn’t have the money and energy to keep battling in court. The judge encouraged them to settle, but there’s no indication of how encouraging he was.
This is EXACTLY why I think gay couples should have the same rights as straight couples. Geez.
Well, that’s why I support civil unions, myself. I still have to wonder about this case, though. What were these two talking about for fifteen years of making a life together? No one likes to have morbid discussions, but unexpected tragedy is a fact of nature, and if you don’t plan for it as best you can in the circumstances in which you find yourself, the amount of sympathy due you is limited.
PS: Hope the move goes well. Transferring the last of my stuff from my old bachelor hovel to Atsushi’s place when he was shipped off to Kyushu last year was bad enough–and it was only a 20-minute drive. I can’t imagine the headache of getting everything to the opposite coast.