Thomas J. Bernardo, the surviving partner of a well-known AIDS physician in the area, is in a legal battle with his deceased partner’s ex-wife for close to a half-million dollars in death benefits.
Bernardo, 61, a Deptford hairstylist, was the lover of Dr. John Turner for about 28 years prior to Turner’s death of a neuromuscular disease in March 2008. Turner was 63 when he died.
Bernardo later received about $93,000 in death benefits from the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association-College Retirement Equities Funds, a financial-services company that’s administering Turner’s retirement plan.
However, the bulk of Turner’s death benefits — amounting to about $465,960 — are in dispute because his ex-wife, Pamela G. Turner, is claiming she’s entitled to the money.
TIAA-CREF is withholding the remaining funds until U.S. District Judge Stewart Dalzell decides who is the rightful recipient.
According to court papers filed by TIAA-CREF, Turner didn’t complete the proper forms in 1981 when he attempted to remove his wife and replace her with Bernardo as his beneficiary.
If TIAA-CREF had distributed all the death benefits in question to Bernardo, it risked violating provisions of the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code, according to court papers filed on behalf of TIAA-CREF.
Turner, an endocrinologist who was one of the first doctors to treat people with AIDS in the area, accrued the benefits while working for Temple University, now-defunct Graduate Hospital and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, according to court papers.
TIAA-CREF already has distributed an undisclosed portion of the disputed proceeds to Pamela Turner, according to court papers filed on behalf of Bernardo.
After Turner died, his retirement benefits converted to death benefits, to be awarded in a lump sum to his designated beneficiary, according to court papers.
Since March 2008, the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania has been helping Bernardo obtain the proceeds in question.
“Our position is that Dr. Turner took all appropriate steps to designate Thom as his beneficiary,” said Ronda B. Goldfein, executive director of the law project, who also serves as an attorney for Bernardo.
Bernardo wasn’t available for comment.
However, he provided ample documentation to the law project, indicating that John Turner took the required steps to name him as beneficiary of all the funds, Goldfein added.
Pamela Turner, 65, of Collegeville, disputes that position.
In court papers, Pamela Turner stated her late ex-husband never removed her as the designated beneficiary for the funds in question.
Richard D. Linderman, an attorney for Pamela Turner, declined to comment for this story, citing the pending litigation.
In court papers he filed, he noted there was “a certain and easy way for Turner, a highly educated and intelligent man, to change his primary beneficiary.”
Since John Turner allegedly did not follow the correct procedures — and complete the correct forms — the remaining funds should go to Pamela Turner, according to court papers filed on her behalf.
The Turners divorced in October 1985 in what was described in court papers as an acrimonious break-up, after John Turner came out to his wife as gay.
John Turner made it amply clear to his employers that he did not want Pamela Turner to be the recipient of his retirement or death benefits, according to court papers filed on behalf of Bernardo.
Goldfein said the AIDS Law Project is pleased to help ensure that John Turner’s final wishes are fulfilled.
The initial court papers related to the dispute were filed by TIAA-CREF in March 2009, seeking guidance from Judge Dalzell on distribution of the disputed proceeds.
Dalzell is expected to render a decision in the next few weeks.
A spokesperson for TIAA-CREF denied any anti-LGBT bias on the part of the organization.
“We are a non-homophobic organization,” said John D. Spagnuolo, a spokesperson for TIAA-CREF.
“I can’t comment on pending litigation, but I can say that our organization has shown nothing less than complete support for our LGBT employees and clients. We conduct extensive online and in-person diversity training for approximately 7,000 employees.”
Tim Cwiek can be reached at (215) 625-8501 ext. 208.