A Texas appellate court on Tuesday upheld an award of workers compensation benefits to the common-law wife of a police officer who died in the line of duty.
David Hofer and Marta Danylyk began dating in February 2012 when Mr. Hofer was a police officer for the City of New York. The couple began living together in New York in November 2013 and, one year later, moved to Texas where Mr. Hofer started working for the Euless Police Department, according to City of Euless v. Danylyk, filed in the Court of Appeals for the 5th District of Texas.
In September 2014, Mr. Hofer and Ms. Danylyk became engaged to be married. The couple purchased a home together in November 2015.
Mr. Hofer was killed in the line of duty in 2016. He is survived by his parents, two siblings and Ms. Danylyk, who began an heirship determination proceeding in the Collin County Probate Court. Mr. Hofer’s parents supported her heirship application. The probate court granted it, concluding that she was Ms. Hofer’s sole heir and surviving spouse.
Ms. Danylyk then sought death benefits from self-insured Euless and an administrative law judge determined that she was a surviving spouse and entitled to death benefits under law. A Division of Workers’ Compensation appeals panel agreed. Euless then filed suit for judicial review, which resulted in a jury trial and a verdict against the city.
In affirming, the appeals court explained that an informal, or common-law, marriage may be proved by evidence that the parties agreed to be married, lived together in Texas as husband and wife and represented to others that they were married.
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