Landlord Claims Surviving Spouse Married Decedent to Inherit His Apartment

Last September Sarah Berman, 63, married Stanley Lowell, 87. A month later Lowell died and Berman inherited his apartment. The landlord now wants to evict Berman, claiming that not only is unfair for her to inherit the apartment after such a brief marriage, but that Lowell did not have the legal capacity to enter into the marriage.

The building’s owner, Fourth FGP LLC, is asking a Manhattan Supreme Court judge to allow for Berman’s eviction, arguing that she married Lowell for the sole purpose of acquiring the apartment. Public records indicate the couple lived together since the early 1990s, though neighbors claim Berman is a nightmare to live near.

The landlord currently has immediate possession of Lowell’s apartment and insists that Lowell “lacked the mental capacity to understand the nature, effects, and consequences of the purported marriage.”

See Kathianne Boniello and Cynthia R. Fagen, Gal Got a Groom For Rent: Landlord’s Claim in Evict Bid, The New York Post, Aug. 21, 2011.