No Death Benefits for Unmarried Live-In Partners, Appellate Court Affirms

A disabled woman who relied on her live-in boyfriend of 13 years for income couldn’t collect death benefits after he died because they were an unmarried couple living together, Georgia’s 3rd Division Court of Appeals decided Tuesday. Georgia allows non-family dependents to collect benefits when a worker dies, but it carves out an exception for dependents in a “meretricious” relationship. “Meretricious,” according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is an “antiquated” term originating in the 17th century that means “relating to or chara...