Elderly Couple’s Marriage Questioned

After 96-year-old Edith Hill and 95-year-old Eddie Harrison had been companions for more than a decade, they finally married earlier this year.  Hill’s daughter, Rebecca Wright, does not understand the fuss over her mother’s marriage, “Anybody who wants to get married must have a little dementia.” 

However, the courts are not amused and the future for the newlyweds remains uncertain.  Legally, the wedding has been problematic, as Hill has been declared incapacitated for several years.  At a hearing earlier this month a judge said he believes that Wright, co-guardian over her mother, acted improperly by taking her mother to get married without the court’s permission. 

Cary Cuccinelli, represents Patricia Barber, the sister who opposed the marriage, said that the wedding occurred without other family members’ knowledge, and that it complicated the matter of how to eventually distribute Hill’s estate.  “Legally, Mr. Harrison now has a right to a portion of Ms. Hill’s estate.

The judge removed Wright and Barber as Hill’s guardians and subsequently appointed a lawyer, instructing her to “investigate the marriage and take all actions appropriate and reasonable to protect the best interests of Edith Hill.”    

See Matthew Barakat, Marriage of Newlyweds, Ages 96 and 95, Questioned, SF Gate, Sept. 9, 2014.

Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.