Battle Over a $9 Million Will Rests on Just One Clause

Emlie Anderson’s mother, Joan Anderson, and Jill Morris were a romantic couple for almost 20 years when they both passed away in 2016 a mere 12 days apart. Morris, 84, died from an extended battle with cancer and Anderson, 76, died from a stroke. Emlie was devasted by losing them both back-to-back, but another battle was brewing.

Morris has been a psychoanalyst and a savvy real estate buyer. At the time of her death her estate was worth an estimated $9 million, and due to a single clause, three charities are arguing that a majority of it should go to them. That is because the gifts that were listed for her partner in Anderson’s will – $100,000 cash, a townhouse in the West Village worth more than $4 million, a beach house in Water Mill, N.Y., that is on the market for around $750,000, the contents of her safe deposit box, a carousel horse, and several paintings – were stipulated that Anderson outlive Morris by 30 days. Not all bequests were given this stipulation. Because Anderson died 12 days after Morris, the Judge Nora Anderson of the Surrogate Court of New York ruled that the gifts lapsed and that they pass to the residual clause, which states that the rest of the estate is to be split among three charities: the Natural Resources Defense Council, Doctors Without Borders and Save the Children Federation. Emlie has appealed.

Emlie says that the 30-day stipulation was not necessary, as her mother and Morris were common law married under New York law, and spouse cannot be disinherited. The attorneys for the charities argue otherwise, but Emlie believes there would not have been any issue if it had been a heterosexual couple that had been together for 20 years. She said this case is about validating the relationship between the two. “I feel like something should count for the relationship that they had. If they weren’t gay, I don’t think this would be happening.”

See Paul Sullivan, Battle Over a $9 Million Will Rests on Just One Clause, New York Times, December 13, 2019.

Special thanks to Joel C. Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law), Lewis Saret (Attorney, Washington, D.C.) and Matthew Bogin, (Esq., Bogin Law) for bringing this article to my attention.