A San Francisco Superior Court judge found that one of the parties to a 2004 marriage between two lesbians that had been declared null and void by the state nonetheless qualifies as a "putative" spouse.
The tentative decision in Hernandez v. King, made June 25 by Judge Victor M. Hwang, holds that because Cynthia Hernandez "had a good faith subjective belief that her marriage was valid" from 2004 to 2020, she qualifies as a putative spouse.
To be a putative spouse under state law, one part of a couple must have had a good faith belief the marriage was valid. It does not necessarily have to be a reasonable belief, Hwang's decision states.