Texas Probate Court Holds Same-Sex Marriage Ban Unconstitutional

While the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals considers whether to hold Texas' same-sex marriage bans unconstitutional (see prior posting), Jurist reports that a Travis County, Texas Probate Court judge in Estate of Powell, (Travis Co. Prob. Ct., Feb. 17, 2015), rather summarily held that Texas Family Code Sec. 2.401 limiting common law marriages to  heterosexual couples is unconstitutional, as are Sec. 6.204(b) and Texas Constitution Art. I, Sec. 32 that invalidate same-sex marriages.  The decision dismissed challenges by other relatives of the deceased, Stella Marie Powell, to a claim by her same-sex partner that she is entitled to Powell's estate.