Judge seeks more information on Sebastopol same-sex marriage case

A judge postponed consideration of a Sebastopol woman's petition for legal recognition of her marriage to her late partner, which was held six days before the U.S. Supreme Court restored the right for same-sex couples to wed in California.

Judge Nancy Case Shaffer is seeking additional legal input from the lawyer handling the case before determining whether to declare the marriage valid, attorney Tate Birnie said. Shaffer rescheduled the case until Sept. 18.

Stacey Schuett and Lesly Taboada-Hall exchanged vows June 19, one day before Taboada-Hall succumbed to cancer and a week before the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Proposition 8, which had prevented the couple from marrying earlier.

At stake, in part, are survivor's benefits for which Schuett and the couple's two children would be eligible if the marriage is validated.