Brazil Human Interest News
RIO DE JANEIRO – A judge in central Brazil has ordered a widow to share her late husband’s civil service pension with the dead man’s mistress. The plaintiff in the suit told TV Anhanguera that she never felt like the “other woman” in the relationship, which lasted 15 years and ended with the death of her lover.
Widow Ordered to Share Husband’s Pension
“He told me that his marriage was more for looks and that he no longer had a relationship with his wife. I did not feel like a lover. I was his wife, and he presented me as such,” said the woman.
The judge in the state of Goias delivered the ruling last week after the mistress presented photos and other documents to substantiate the affair. The complaint also included DNA evidence showing that the man fathered the woman’s teenage daughter. The woman waited four years for the decision, which is still subject to appeal.
“I thought about suing ever since his death, but I did not think anyone would believe me. In 2008, I approached a law firm with my story, and they agreed to bring the action,” said the woman.
The judge ruled that the mistress must now be included in the pension. He argued that, although there is no clear-cut statute recognizing the rights “of another,” the plaintiff had proven the affair.
The judge also said that, clearly, the mistress was economically dependent on her lover. Further, the couple’s relationship was public, and possibly hidden only from family.
According to the mistress, only economic considerations prevented her lover from ending his marriage. “I think what prevented him from divorcing her was the problem of money, not wanting to share what he worked for all his life.”
For her, the pension decision has merit. “It will totally change my life, not just money, but also for recognition. Stop with the paradigm that says every mistress is a whore. I was never, ever. I lived with him and was loyal to him until the day he died,” she said.
The widow plans to appeal. Undisclosed was the size of the pension.
