The right of privacy and America's aging population

Denver University Law Review

Volumn 86, Issue 2, 2009, Pages 439-456

  Knaplund, Kristine S ^a  

^a PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

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EID: 65349138386     PISSN: 08839409     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (175)

1. Justice O'Connor's Husband Finds New love: Retired Supreme Court Justice's Spouse Forms Romance with Fellow Alzheimer's Patient, CBS News, Nov. 13, 2007, http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/13/national/mail3494982. shtml?source=search-story.
2. Suzanne McCarroll, Sandra Day O'Connor Makes Alzheimer's Plea, CBS4DENVER, May 14,2008, http://cbs4denver.com/health/Sandra.Day.0.2. 724461.html.
3. Kate Zernike, STILL MANY SPLENDORED; Love In the Time of Dementia, N.Y. TIMES, November 18, 2007, § 4, available at http://query.nvtimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res= 9D01E2D91030F93BA25752ClA9619C8B63&scp=2&sq=LOVE%20IN%20THE%20TIME%20O F%20DEMENTIA&st=cse (quoting Dr. Thomas R. Cole, director of the McGovern Center for Health, Humanities and the Human Spirit at the University of Texas).
4. Melinda Henneberger, An Affair to Remember, SLATE, June 10, 2008, http://www.slate.com/id/2192178/ (last visited Jan. 3,2009).
5. Sex In Nursing Homes, THE KENTUCKY POST, July 12, 2003, at A1, available at http://www.cincinnati. com/text/kypost/2003 /G7/12/sex071203 .html.
6. Merryn Gott, Sexual Health and the New Ageing, 35 AGE & AGEING 106, 106 (2006),
7. available at http://ageing.oxfordjoumals.Org/cgi/content/full/35/ 2/106 (citing Stephen Katz and Barbara Marshall, New Sex For Old: Lifestyles, Consumerism, and the Ethics of Aging Well, 17 J. AGING STUDIES 3, 12 (2003),
8. available at http://www.trentu.ca/academic/sociology/ faculty/documents/NewSexForOld-000.pdf, and Merryn Gott and Sharron Hinchliff, How Important is Sex in Later Life? The Views of Older People, 56 SOC. SCI. MED. 8, 1617, 1626 (2003)).
9. Jennifer Sisk, Sexuality in Nursing Homes: Preserving Rights, Promoting Well-being, AGING WELL, Sept. 2007, available at http://www.agingwellmag.com/septstory3.shtml.
10. Id.;
11. Steven H. Miles & Kara Parker, Sexuality in the Nursing Home: Iatrogenic Loneliness, 23 GENERATIONS 36,36 (1999).
12. Roberts v. U.S. Jaycees, 468 U.S. 609, 617-618 (1984). In contrast, the other line of decisions recognize "a right to associate for the purpose of engaging in those activities protected by the First Amendment-speech, assembly, petition for redress of grievances, and the exercise of religion."
13. Id. at 618.
14. See Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558, 578-79 (2003).
15. Id. at 562.
16. See Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479, 515-16 (1965).
17. See Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1,12 (1967).
18. See Eisenstadt v. Baird, 405 U.S. 438, 453 (1972) (invalidating a statute prohibiting the distribution of contraceptives to unmarried persons);
19. see also Carey v. Population Services Int'l, 431 U.S. 678, 693 (1977) (invalidating a New York law forbidding the distribution of contraceptives to persons under sixteen years of age).
20. John D. DeLamater & Morgan Sill, Sexual Desire in Later Life, 42 THE JOURNAL OF SEX RESEARCH, 138 (2005).
21. Id. at 125.
22. Janet K. Feldkamp, Navigating the Uncertain Legal Waters of Resident Sexuality: Residents' Rights to Sexual Expression Can Create Complicated Issues for Facilities and Family Members, NURSING HOMES, Feb. 2003, at 62.
23. Michael Bauer et al., Sexuality, Health Care and the Older Person: An Overview of the Literature, 2 INT'L J. OF OLDER PEOPLE NURSING, 63, 64 (2007);
24. Stacy Lindau et al., A Study of Sexuality and Health Among Older Adults in the United States, 357 NEW ENG. J. MED. 762, 772 (2007).
25. See, e.g., Sisk, supra note 7;
26. Miles & Parker, supra note 8;
27. Sex In Nursing Homes, supra note 5.
28. McCarroll, supra note 2.
29. Brenda Plassman et al., Prevalence of Dementia in the United States: The Aging, Demographics, and Memory Study, 29 NEUROEPIDEMOLOGY 125,125 (2007).
30. Id. at 128. Vascular dementia, usually caused by a stroke, accounted for 17.4%;
31. the remaining 12.7% of cases included "dementia, undetermined etiology," Parkinson's dementia, alcoholic dementia, and traumatic brain injury, among others. Id.
32. Christian Derousene et al., Sexual Behavior and Changes in Alzheimer's Disease, 10 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS 86,92 (1996).
33. Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987, 42 U.S.C. § 1396r(c)(1)(A)(iii) (privacy), (c)(3) (access and visitation rights) (2008).
34. Id. § (c)(2)(B)(i)(I).
35. Feldkamp, supra note 17.
36. Jeffrey Spitzer-Resnick & Maya Krajcinovic, Protecting the Rights of Nursing Home Residents: How Tort Liability Interacts with Statutory Protections, 19 NOVA L. REV. 629, 633-34 (1995).
37. ALASKA STAT. § 47.33.300(a)(5) (2008).
38. ARK. CODE ANN. § 20-10-1204(a)(16)(A)(i) (2008);
39. FLA. STAT. ANN. § 400.022(1)(b) (2008).
40. FLA. STAT. ANN. § 400.022(1)(m) (2008).
41. N.Y. COMP. CODES R. & REGS. tit. 10, § 415.29(c) (2008).
42. CA. CODE OF REGS. tit. 22, § 87468(a)(11) (2008).
43. AARP TENNESSEE AND LEGAL AID SOCIETY OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE, YOU HAVE RIGHTS IN A NURSING HOME 10 (2001).
44. Madonna H. Meyer & Carrie Roseamelia, Emerging Issues for Older Couples: Protecting Income and Assets, Right to Intimacy, and End-of-Life Decisions, GENERATIONS, Fall 2007, at 66, 68.
45. Miles & Parker, supra note 8, at 39.
46. Id.
47. Meyer & Roseamelia, supra note 34, at 68.
48. Douglas J. Edwards, Sex and Intimacy in the Nursing Home, NURSING HOMES: LONG TERM CAARE MANAGEMENT, Feb. 2003, at 18;
49. Dirk Johnson & Julie Scelfo, Sex, Love, and Nursing Homes, NEWSWEEK, Jan. 19, 2004, available at http://www.newsweek.com/ id/52779/output/print.
50. Feldkamp, supra note 17;
51. Johnson & Scelfo, supra note 38 (quoting a 65-year-old resident who "wanted some privacy with a lady friend: 'But we knew we'd be evicted from the facility if we got caught'").
52. See, e.g., Henneberger, supra note 4.
53. Id.;
54. see also Sex In Nursing Homes, supra note 5.
55. Belinky v. Drake Ctr., Inc., 690 N.E.2d 1302,1305-06 (Ohio Ct. App. 1996).
56. Id. Mrs. Belinky would not be able to sue her husband, however, as Ohio exempts spouses from sexual battery. OHIO REV. CODE ANN. § 2907.03(A) (2008) ("No person shall engage in sexual conduct with another, not the spouse of the offender, when any of the following apply ....").
57. OHIO ADMIN. CODE 3701-17-09(d).
58. Belinky, 690 N.E.2d at 1309.
59. Michelle J. Anderson, Marital Immunity, Intimate Relationships, and Improper Inferences: A New Law on Sexual Offenses by Intimates, 54 HASTINGS L.J. 1465,1456 (2003).
60. Id. at 1478-84.
61. Id. at 1470-71.
62. WAYNE R. LAFAVE, 2 SUBST. CRIM. L. § 17.4 (2d ed. 2008).
63. Id.
64. Id.
65. Johnson & Scelfo, supra note 38.
66. Miles & Parker, supra note 8, at 23, 38.
67. Daniel Kuhn, Intimacy, Sexuality, and Residents with Dementia, 3 ALZHEIMER'S CARE QUARTERLY 165,167 (2002).
68. MODEL PENAL CODE § 213.1(2)(c) (1962).
69. CAL. CODE REGS. 22, § 72527(a)(11) (West 2008).
70. CAL. PROB. CODE § 21350(a)(6) (West 2008);
71. Idaho Code Ann. § 15-2-616 (2008).
72. Bernard v. Foley, 139 P.3d 1196,1207-08 (2006).
73. IDAHO CODE ANN. § 15-2-616.
74. CAL. PROB. CODE § 21351(d). Another way to provide for the caregiver under California law is to have the instrument reviewed by an independent attorney who counsels the transferor and also executes a "Certificate of Independent Review."
75. Id. § 21351(b).
76. The Idaho statute simply says the presumption is "rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence." IDAHO CODE AANN. § 15-2-616.
77. Rice v. Clark, 47 P.3d 300,304 (2002).
78. Bernard, 139 P.3d at 1205.
79. CAL. PROB. CODE § 21351(a) states that no presumption of undue influence is raised if "the transferor is related by blood or marriage to, is a cohabitant with, or is the registered domestic partner of the transferee," among other exceptions.
80. In re Estate of Romano, 246 P. 2d 501, 505 (1952);
81. Terry Turnipseed, How Do I Love Thee, Let Me Count The Days: Deathbed Marriages in America, 96 Ky. L.J. 275,287 (2007-2008).
82. Geitner v. Townsend, 312 S.E.2d 236,238 (N.C. Ct. App. 1984).
83. Johnson v. Johnson, 104 N.W.2d 8,14 (N.D. 1960).
84. Fischer v. Adams, 38 N.W.2d 337,340 (Neb. 1949).
85. Riddell v. Edwards, 32 P.3d 4,6,16 (Alaska 2001).
86. Id. at 6.
87. Id.
88. Id.
89. Id. at 19.
90. Riddell v. Edwards, 76 P.3d 847, 853 (Alaska 2003).
91. Id..at 849.
92. Pape v. Byrd, 582 N.E.2d 164,168 (III. 1991).
93. Abel v. Waters, 373 So. 2d 1125, 1127 (Ala. Civ. App. 1979).
94. Id. at 1128.
95. Kuehmsted v. Tumwall, 103 Ha. 1180,1184 (Ha. 1932).
96. KY. REV. STAT. ANN. § 402.020(l)(a)(2008);
97. Mo. ANN. STAT. § 451.020 (2008);
98. NEB. REV. ST. § 42-103(2) (2008);
99. N.J. STAT. ANN. § 2A:34-l(d) (2008);
100. 23 PA. CON. STAT. ANN. § 3304(a)(3) (2008);
101. R.I. GEN. LAWS 1956 § 15-1-5;
102. TEX. PROB. CODE ANN. § 47A(a) (Vernon 2008).
103. In re Estate of Santolino, 895 A.2d 506,514-17 (N.J. Super. Ct. Ch. Div. 2005).
104. Johnson v. Sands, 53 S.W.2d 929, 930 (Ky. 1932).
105. The case was remanded for trial on the merits; in a subsequent decision, the court determined the husband was not in fact insane, and the marriage was valid. Johnson v. Sands, 276 Ky. 492 (1939).
106. In re Acker, 48 Pa. D. & C. 4th 489 (Pa. Ct. Com. P1. 2000).
107. LA. CIV. CODE art. 95 (effective Jan. 1,1988).
108. Succession of Ricks, 893 So. 2d 98, 100 (La. Ct. App. 2004) (citing LA. CODE CIV. PROC. art. 685 (2008) (enacted in 1960)).
109. N.C. GEN. STAT. § 51-3 (2008).
110. See, e.g., Geitner v. Townsend, 312 S.E.2d 236, 238 (N.C Ct. App. 1984) ("a marriage of a person incapable of contracting for want of understanding is not void, but voidable," (citing Ivery v. Ivery, 258 N.C. 721,730 (1963))).
111. Turnipseed, supra note 64, at 287-289.
112. See, e.g., ALASKA STAT. § 25.05.031;
113. ARK. CODE ANN. § 9-12-201;
114. Vance v. Hinch, 222 Ark. 494,497(1953) (marriage which involves party lacking mental capacity is voidable but not absolutely void);
115. CAL. FAM. CODE § 2210 (West 2008);
116. Husted v. Husted, 35 Cal. Rptr. 698 (1963);
117. COLO. REV. STAT. § 14-10-lll(l)(a).
118. UNIFORM MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE ACT § 208 cmt. 1998 Main Volume (1970) (amended 1971 and 1973), 9A U.L.A. 188 (1998).
119. In re Estate of Romano, 246 P.2d 501 (Wash. 1952).
120. Id. at 502-03.
121. Id. at 503.
122. Id.
123. Id. at 506.
124. Id. at 507.
125. Patey v. Peaslee, 111 A.2d 194,197 (N.H. 1955).
126. Id. at 196.
127. See, e.g., Levine v. Dumbra, 604 N.Y.S.2d 207 (N.Y. App. Div. 1993).
128. See, e.g., Parente v. Wenger, 464 N.Y.S.2d 341 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1983);
129. Bennett v. Thomas, 327 N.Y.S.2d 139 (N.Y. App. Div. 1971).
130. Estate of Dominguez, 2002 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1596,26-27 (N.Y. Sur. Ct. Nov. 18,2002).
131. In re Estate of Lint, 957 P.2d 755, 757 (Wash. 1998).
132. Id. at 757-58.
133. Id. at 765.
134. Id. at 766.
135. See J. A. Connelly, Annotation, Power of Incompetent Spouse's Guardian, Committee, or Next Friend to Sue for Granting or Vacation of Divorce or Annulment of Marriage, or to Make a Compromise or Settlement in Such Suit, 6 A.L.R.3d 681, § 5(a)-(b) (1966 & Supp. 1993).
136. Murray v. Murray, 426 S.E.2d 781,784 (S.C. 1993).
137. Nelson v. Nelson, 878 P.2d 335, 338 (N.M. Ct. App. 1994);
138. Murray, 426 S.E.2d at 784. Both Nelson and Murray involve a spouse who was competent at the time of the marriage but later became incompetent.
139. See, e.g., Nelson, 878 P.2d at 338.
140. See, e.g., COLO. REV. STAT. § 14-10-111(2)-(3) (2008) (six months);
141. DEL. CODE ANN. tit. 13, § 1506(b) (2008) (ninety days).
142. In re Estate of Crockett, 728 N.E.2d 765,767 (Hl. App. Ct. 2000).
143. Id. at 766.
144. Id. at 771-72. Other irregularities occurred in the marriage ceremony.
145. For example, although Illinois law requires both parties to appear and sign in the presence of the county clerk-id. at 766 (citing 750 fix. COMP. STAT. 5/203 (1996))-only Laverne Crockett was present at the clerk's office to obtain the license. The court did not seem to regard this as a reason to invalidate the marriage.
146. Hosam K. Kamel & Ramzi R. Hajjar, Sexuality in the Nursing Home, Part 2: Managing Abnormal Behavior-Legal and Ethical Issues, 4J. AM. MED. DIR. ASSOC. 203,205 (2003).
147. The Hebrew Home at Riverdale, http://www.hebrewhome.org/nursinghome.asp (last visited Dec. 18,2008).
148. Kuehmsted v. Turnwall, 138 So. 775,778 (Fla. 1932).
149. See, e.g., TENN. CODE ANN. § 36-3-305 (2008);
150. WIS. STAT. §§ 765.30(2)(b)-(c), (3)(a) (2008).
151. See, e.g., MONT. CODE ANN. § 40-1 -402(4) ("Children born of a marriage declared invalid are legitimate.").
152. The statute is based on the UNIFORM MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE ACT § 208.
153. In re Estate of Toutant, 633 N.W.2d 692,697 (Wis. Ct App. 2001).
154. Id. at 699-700.
155. Estate of Dominguez, 2002 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1596, 26-27 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., Nov. 18, 2002).
156. DEL. CODE ANN. tit. 13, § 1506(b)(1) (2008).
157. COLO. REV. STAT. § 14-10-1ll(2)(a) (2008).
158. See FLA. STAT. ANN. §§ 430.600-606 (West 2008).
159. Judith Rabig et al., Radical Redesign of Nursing Homes: Applying the Green House Concept in Tupelo, Mississippi, 46 GERONTOLOGIST 533,533 (2006).
160. Alice Dembner, 'Green Houses' For Golden Years, BOSTON GLOBE, Sept. 30, 2006, at Al.
161. Athan Bezaitis, Changing Choices-Aging in Place in the 21st Century, AGING WELL, Spring 2008, at 30, available at http://www.agingwellmag.com/071708p30.shtml.
162. See also Nell Bernstein, "Aging in Place" Communities Offer Seniors Independence and Support, Caring.com, July 9, 2008, available at http://www.caring.com/articles/aging-in-place.
163. Id.
164. Id.;
165. see also The Elder Cohousing Network, http://www.abrahampaiss.com/ ElderCohousing/GlacierCircle.htm (last visited Dec. 18,2008).
166. Patricia Leigh Brown, Growing Old Together, in New Kind of Commune, N.Y. TIMES, Feb. 27, 2006, at Al, available at http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/27/national/27commune.html? adxnnl= l&pagewanted=print$adxnnbt=1222286447-bRdrFtmo20qQN8jBGIDkPg.
167. CAL. FAM. CODE § 2251 (West 2008);
168. LA. CIV. CODE ANN. art.% (2008);
169. Lee v. Lee, 247 S.W. 828,830 (Tex. Comm'n App. 1923).
170. UNIFORM MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE ACT § 209 (1970) (amended 1971 and 1973), 9A U.L.A. 192 (1998);
171. see also RESTATEMENT (THIRD) OF PROP.: WILLS AND OTHER DONATIVE TRANSFERS § 2.2, cmt. e (2008).
172. See, e.g., Estate of Hafner, 229 Cal. Rptr. 676, 681 (Cal. Ct. App. 1986) (stating that the status of the putative spouse "belongs only to the party or parties to a void marriage who the trial court finds to have believed in good faith in the validity of the void marriage").
173. A bigamist might still inherit under the putative spouse's will; courts carefully examine whether the testator bequest "was founded on her supposed legal relation with [her husband] and not primarily on their long and intimate association." In re Estate of Carson, 194 P. 5 (Cal. 1920).
174. Lucette Lagnado, Foundation Places Big Bel on 'Green Houses'for Elderly, PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, June 29, 2008 at A-2 (citing a 2003 AARP survey that 1% of Americans over age fifty with a disability wanted to move to a nursing home);
175. Bob Moos, Boomer Home-Bodies: Wanting To Stay Put Isn 't New-What's New is the 76 Million Baby Boomers Approaching Golden Pond, DALLAS MORNING NEWS, NOV. 28, 2004, at 1H (citing an AARP survey that about 8 out of 10 elderly want to stay in their own homes).