Jeff Phillips, left, and his late husband, Joey Paul A declaration of Dallas couple’s informal marriage may allow release of evidence to help solve a murder DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writertaffet@dallasvoice.com More than three years after the murder of his husband Joey Paul, Jeff Phillips can finally inherit his portion of Paul’s estate, and he can finally get information from Dallas police about the investigation that had been previously withheld from him — and all because of a court ruling in Dallas County.
The couple had been together for 15 years at the time of Paul’s death, but they were not formally married. Still, probate Judge Brenda Hull Thompson declared Phillips’ claim of common law, or informal marriage as it’s known in