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B-227483 1 (1987-10-23)

handle is hein.gao/gaobadmws0001 and id is 1 raw text is: The Comptroller General of the United States ' Washington, D.C. 20548 Decision Matterof- Bernice Webb Becks - Claim for Unpaid Compensation File: B-227483 Date: October 23, 1987 DIGEST A claimant who asserts that she is the common-law wife of a deceased.employee may not collect his unpaid compensation since no common-law marriage has been established and it is unclear whether the deceased employee believed himself to be or held himself out as married. DECISION This action is in response to a request for reconsideration by Bernice Webb Becks (hereafter referred to as Ms. Becks), of our Claims Group's January 27, 1987, disallowance of her claim for unpaid compensation due Mr. Kellie R. Becks.l/ It is our view that the marriage claimed by Ms. Becks to Mr. Becks is too uncertain to allow payment of the claim, and the Claims Group's disallowance is affirmed. Mr. Becks, an employee of the Internal Revenue Service, died on May 12, 1984. Ms. Becks filed a claim for unpaid compensation due Mr. Becks at the time of his death. She and her attorney assert that she and Mr. Becks were married at common law on August 8, 1976, in Texas, and thus she is entitled to receive the unpaid compensation. Our Claims Group disallowed the settlement, noting that although the State of Texas does recognize common-law marriages, there are a number of discrepancies in the record and thus the claim was too uncertain to allow payment. Authority for settlement of accounts of a deceased employee is found at 5 U.S.C. SS 5581-5583. Section 5582 provides l/ The claimant is also referred to in various documents as Berneice Booker (maiden name) and Bernice B. Webb (apparently a former married name). It is unclear at what point, if any, her name was formally changed to Bernice Becks.

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