“ Putative Spouse ” Defined For Wrongful Death Actions.

Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60, provides that a wrongful death action may be brought by a decedent’s putative spouse and defines the putative spouse as “the surviving spouse of a void or voidable marriage who is found by the court to have believed in good faith that the marriage to the decedent was valid.” The Court of Appeal held the phrase in italics means “a subjective standard that focuses on the alleged putative spouse’s state of mind to determine whether he or she maintained a genuine and honest belief in the validity of the marriage. Good faith must be judged on a case-by-case basis in light of all the relevant facts, such as the efforts made to create a valid marriage, the alleged putative spouse’s background and experience, and the circumstances surrounding the marriage, including any objective evidence of the marriage’s invalidity. Under this standard, the reasonableness of the claimed belief is a factor properly considered along with all other circumstances in assessing the genuineness of that belief. The good faith inquiry, however, does not call for application of a reasonable person test, and a belief in the validity of a marriage need not be objectively reasonable.” Ceja v. Rudolph & Sletten, Inc. (Cal. Sup. Ct.; June 20, 2013) 56 Cal.4th 1113, [302 P.3d 211; [158 Cal.Rptr.3d 21].