In July, Kathy Murphy received a letter from the Social Security Administration. “We are writing to tell you that you do not qualify for widow’s benefits,” it said. “You do not qualify for the lump-sum death benefit because you are not Sara Elizabeth Barker’s widow or child.”
Well. Not only had Ms. Murphy shared a modest ranch house in Austin, Tex., with Sara Barker for nearly 30 years, not only had she cared for Ms. Barker through two terrible final years of illness, but the two were indeed legally married.
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