I was watching 20/20 yesterday and had mixed emotions about a story I heard and wanted to get your opinions.
This woman was married to a man (firefighter). He died in the line of duty and now there is a HUGE fight going over his assets and insurance.
Here is the catch, this woman was born as a man....She had her sex change operation AFTER they got married. She said her hubby knew about all this and was fine with it and loved her unconditionally. His family claims he did not know about this, was deceived and wanted a divorce after he found out. They claim he only found out because his ex-wife found the original birth certificate of the woman and it said she was a male...
Here's the question...should she be entitled to his life insurance? There is also a fight that since she was a man, the marriage was not legal since same sex marriages are not legal in TX.
SoonToBeMrsCali
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Hmmm, that's a toughy.... I think if he didn't have a will (which I assume you should if you are a firefighter), the family is entitled to his estate. How long were they married for?
Chanwich
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I think that legally, the family is probably right since the marriage was technically not legal in texas. however, personally I think that if they were married and loved each other and that didn't matter to them, then the wife should get some claim to it as well. But I feel like legally that won't fly in court in texas. That is a tough situation though!
Yankeeelove
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I think legally and morally she(or he) shouldn't be entitled to anything.
allornil
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hmmm that's tough.
if they were married the husband knew she wasn't born a woman and loved her anyway. He wouldn't have had to divorce her bc the marriage wouldn't have been legal. I think the family is just angry and wants his money.
I'm not sure of the laws in tx regarding spouses. how long were they married?
and did he name her as the recipient of that life ins? if he did, she should get it.
Lana and Johan
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Posted by SoonToBeMrsCali
Hmmm, that's a toughy.... I think if he didn't have a will (which I assume you should if you are a firefighter), the family is entitled to his estate. How long were they married for?
I think she said 2 years.
Lana and Johan
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Posted by Chanwich
I think that legally, the family is probably right since the marriage was technically not legal in texas. however, personally I think that if they were married and loved each other and that didn't matter to them, then the wife should get some claim to it as well. But I feel like legally that won't fly in court in texas. That is a tough situation though!
I feel like there is a lot he said/she said going on...did he know what she was? did she tell him? did he find out later? was he okay with it?
She said he knew and was there for the surgery. His fam said he found out later....
Lana and Johan
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Posted by Yankeeelove
I think legally and morally she(or he) shouldn't be entitled to anything.
Legally the marriage is null, but if he knew what he/she was and was okay with it, married her and went throught the surgery with her....shouldn't that take into account for something?
SoonToBeMrsCali
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Posted by Lana and Johan
Posted by Yankeeelove
I think legally and morally she(or he) shouldn't be entitled to anything.
Legally the marriage is null, but if he knew what he/she was and was okay with it, married her and went throught the surgery with her....shouldn't that take into account for something?
Totally... if he knew and wasn't going through with proceedings to get divorced or even mentioning it to his family, she is entitled...
LoveyDovey
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ok seriously, how could he be MARRIED to her and not know she was a man...
he neverrrrrrrrrrrrr touched her ever?? never knew she had a penis?? i mean cmon! the guy KNEW!!!
the family is probably angry and upset over the entire situation. I think the wife is entitled to it, even if it wasn't legal- altho if she changes her status to female on dmv records, etc, she is technically a woman now. so even if the marriage wasn't legal, the two of them were married in a sense, sharing assets, incomes, home, etc. she deserves the money.
but its a tough one for the courts! do we know if he named her as his beneficiary?
fdnybride163
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the marriage could be legal if she lied about her gender to begin with and filed as a woman.
i think that if two people loved each other then it shouldnt matter but the life insurance is a sticky situation w anyone.
Lana and Johan
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Posted by LoveyDovey
ok seriously, how could he be MARRIED to her and not know she was a man...
he neverrrrrrrrrrrrr touched her ever?? never knew she had a penis?? i mean cmon! the guy KNEW!!!
the family is probably angry and upset over the entire situation. I think the wife is entitled to it, even if it wasn't legal- altho if she changes her status to female on dmv records, etc, she is technically a woman now. so even if the marriage wasn't legal, the two of them were married in a sense, sharing assets, incomes, home, etc. she deserves the money.
but its a tough one for the courts! do we know if he named her as his beneficiary?
I totally agree with you. In an interview, she said they slept together NAKED and he knew. He asked her to show him before they got married!!! She got the surgery after the marriage! He loved her unconditionally according to her. I think his family didn't know and are angered by the new development. There was no mention on who he names on the benefitially documents. I think his fam is claiming she is a fraud and doesn't deserve ****. No ruling has been made yet.
