N002263
I am a member of the Families of September 11, and we represent a large group of
fianc‚s/domestic partners. Since this fund was legislated federally and is distributing
federal funds we feel we should be treated equally as spouses (since we all had set
wedding dates and our fancies had already asked us to be their wives/husbands). When
this fund was set up by congressional legislation last September it was to compensate not
only for earnings and pain/suffering (which we are the only ones who suffered a financial
loss), but also for 'loss of companionship", "loss of domestic service" etc. This should
apply to us as fiancees/domestic partners as well. We are concerned with the exclusive
effect of this proposal. It appears, however, to have been the intention of the Act to limit
compensation to "relatives." If this is construed to mean relatives at law, many deserving
individuals with close relationships in fact (i.e., co-habiting partners, survivors of
engaged couples, step-children, etc.) who are injured survivors will be excluded. The
regulations should more broadly define "relative" to include de facto relatives
Please read my attached letter expressing our concerns regarding the non-recognition of
fancies/domestic partners in the federal fund. If we are not taken into account then the
money will solely be awarded to the parents of the victim, who were not affected
financially. You cannot expect that the parents will "do-the-right-thing" and share the
award with their son's/daughter's fianc‚/domestic partner. We have already seen many
cases where people have already not taken the "morally correct" approach. We need to be
recognized because our partners/fianc‚s had promised to take care of us forever, just as a
spouse. A spouse is the first recipient of the fund, and a fianc‚/domestic partner should
receive the identical rights of a spouse and not be punished because they were cheated
out of their wedding.
I wholeheartedly wish that I did not have to write this letter. I would give anything to have my life turned
back to September 10th. I thought 2001 was the best year of my life. My fian'ce, who worked at , asked me to marry him in April. On September 11th, we commuted to work together.
My life stopped existing as soon as the plane hit his building. I stood outside the trade center not being able to do
anything for the man I loved more that anything in this world. I went to bed alone that night for
the first
time in two and a half years. I have never been so lonely in my entire life and have never felt such pain in my heart every minute of the day. I now think of 2001 as the year I became a widow before I even had the chance to say, "I do".
I am writing to you because the rules of the victim's compensation fund are soon to be finalized. was one of the hardest hit firms on September 11th and there were over 700 young men and women who were murdered. Many of these people were in their 20's and 30's just beginning a life of their own, including my. At , there are 36 fianc‚s, who have been told that we have no legal rights to the men we would have called our husbands and were supposed to spend the rest of our lives with. We receive no Social Security, no Worker's Compensation, we cannot be named next of kin therefore we cannot be made administrator of their estates. Our names cannot be listed on their death certificates as spouses even though they asked us to be their wives. However, our addresses can be listed as the deceased's address since we lived together. We have gone from being the most important person in our husband-to-
be's life, the ones they shared everything with, to being acknowledged as the equivalent of a good friend because we don't have a piece of paper that says " marriage certificate".
There are countless wives and fianc‚s who share my feelings. We all had planned our lives with the
men
we called our husbands and had them instantly erased on September 11th. However, fianc‚es are
now left
with nothing, while the wives are told they will be compensated. I lived with my fianc‚. We shared
our
home and all of it's expenses. I have received assistance from several charities. For the most part,
they have
treated me as a spouse because we were engaged and did live together as any other married couple.
There
was no difference between us or a couple who was married for three months or three years, besides
a piece
of paper. The difference is now, any government agency or court feels that because they have a piece
of
paper that they deserve to have one less worry in life and be taken care of financially. However,
because I
don't have this piece of paper I receive no benefits. I believe being engaged and living together
symbolizes
a lifetime commitment, marriage. My fianc‚ already publicly announced and celebrated his
engagement
and desire to commit his life to me when he asked me to be his wife. This is the reason that I ask that
fianc‚es be treated as a family (with documents) then that to me is as legitimate as a marriage
certificate. I know I
have everything possible that proved our intentions of having our wedding and currently existing as
a
committed, financially inter-dependent couple. I know that I cannot maintain even a remote
resemblance to
the lifestyle that we lived without assistance. Instead of making financial decisions about our future
with
my husband-to-be, I am forced to face the possibility that he may no longer be able to care for me
unless
the legislation is revised to acknowledge our commitment to each other to be husband and wife.
Unfortunately with the death of a special person, like my fianc‚, there are countless people who are
deeply
saddened and affected. This was simply seen by the 2,000 people that attended his memorial service.
However, there is only one person as a result of my fianc‚s death who was affected financially.
Unfortunately, that person is me, his fianc‚. I was told that the Victim's Compensation Fund was
set-up to
provide long-term financial assistance to the people who were financially dependent on the victim's
income. This fund cannot serve its purpose to the people in their 20's and 30's who didn't have the
chance to
"legally" marry those they had asked, unless fianc‚es are allowed to file with the same rights as
spouses.
Simply stated, fianc‚es are just as financially dependent upon the men in their lives as the wives are.
We
are one in the same. At some point, every married couple was engaged.
I am fully in favor of all of the terms that other wives I know are asking for: not capping the amount
to be
paid out; allowing us to view the amount to be paid out before we sign away our rights to sue;
allowing each
person the right to an individual hearing; and not including life insurance policies, charitable
contributions
and other aid received into the equation that will determine our husbands "rest-of-their-life-income".
However, my biggest fear is that you will exclude a large group of people who are right now being
unrecognized by the government and desperately need the same long-term financial assistance as a
wife.
Fianc‚es are facing the same emotional pain that"legal " spouses are. We too have to learn to exist
without
the men we knew as our husbands. We also have to find a way to pay bills. However, the current
legislation does not take into account the numerous fianc‚es and domestic partners who have been
affected
financially. Our husband-to-be's are classified as single, meaning they had no one in their life to take
care
of and the funds are passed directly to their parents.
Parents have suffered an unbelievable loss as well. Their pain and suffering cannot be measured and
they
should be compensated for it. However, they did not suffer a direct financial loss as a result of the
victim's
lost income. They are able to pay their mortgage with the same money they had in the bank
pre-September
11th and their life plans have not been altered financially. My understanding of the Victim's
Compensation
Fund is that it is supposed to provide long-term financial assistance to those who were specifically
dependent on the victim's income. If fiancees aren't specifically written into the legislation as being
the
primary beneficiary(along with spouses) of the fund, then the availability and the sole purpose of the
fund
becomes null and void and only allows monies to be distributed to people who are hurting
emotionally, but
not financially. I believe the fund should direct its award to dependents upon the victim's income.
This
would include spouses, fiancees, domestic partners, and children. They would be eligible to receive
the
victim's remaining workable life's salary as well as monies for pain and suffering. I believe the fund
should
also include monies for pain and suffering for parents and siblings of the victim. If the fund is laid
out in
this manner, it will properly distribute monetary compensation to the correct parties. This will
eliminate
any parties being "left out" of the fund and further reduce the number of wrongful death suits that
would be
filed if they weren't included.
I ask that fiancees(with sufficient documented proof) be allowed to file with the same "next-of-kin"
status
as a spouse with the Victims' Compensation Fund. I ask that the Victims' Compensation Fund not
read "the
victim's estate may file", but that there be an order of preference in filing, with
spouses/fiancees/domestic
partners being allowed to file first. The deceased chose us to spend the rest of their lives with and
it is only
fair to the deceased that their wishes be honored. We, as spouses, fiancees and domestic partners,
are the
only ones who are left to worry about our financial future. We have already been deprived of our
life
partners and our weddings, please don't deprive fiancees of the financial security our loved ones
would
have wanted us to have simply because we were robbed of our chance to sign a marriage certificate.
I also
ask that our fiances be treated as if they were married. They were months away from their weddings
and it
is not right to deprive their partners of the funds they would have received if their deaths occurred
a few
months later.
If the Victims' Compensation Fund does read "the victim's estate may file" then I, along with many
others,
will be left with nothing and my fianc‚'s two promises to me "I will always be with you and I will
always
take care of you" will then both have been taken away from him and I.
I thank you for your time and consideration.
Individual Comment
New York, NY