Paul Premack: Does transgender status affect inheritance rights?
Published 12:17 p.m., Friday, May 20, 2011
http://www.mysanantonio.com/life/life_columnists/paul_premack/article/Paul-Premack-Does-transgender-status-affect-1388602.php (http://www.mysanantonio.com/life/life_columnists/paul_premack/article/Paul-Premack-Does-transgender-status-affect-1388602.php)
Dear Mr. Premack: My parents updated their wills and living trust in another state several years before my father died. My mother then moved to Texas, where she will likely reside until her death. My sister and I are their only children. I learned from a third party that I am not mentioned in the wills or trust. I am not estranged from either my mother or sister and my mother speaks openly of intending we both share her estate equally. Most likely the omission was due to my mother's embarrassment in their small town and disapproval about my gender reassignment which had commenced three years prior. The attorney who wrote their plan said I may have a valid claim as a pretermitted heir in any event but after reading some of your columns I'm not so sure. Must there be a probate in Texas when she dies? Other than asking my mother to change her will and trust, is there any way to clarify my rights in the event of a contest over heirship following her death? – JP
Reading this article, the mother and father seemed to have intentionally omitted the trans child from the trust and will. Although the mother says to the adult son or daughter that they will share equally, this is not the fact on paper. The mother wants to maintain a relationship with both children, and is non confrontational. However, her feelings seemed to be in opposition to the paperwork.
One thing I just learned is that some legal documents don't travel well across state lines, and should be updated or rewritten by an attorney in the new state.