The 13th Court of Appeals of Texas recently upheld its own decision that a marriage between a deceased firefighter and his transgendered wife was valid. Thomas Araguz died fighting a blaze in 2010 which resulted in his ex-wife and mother challenging the award of death benefits to his wife Nikki Loyd. The court stated that a Texas statute allowed those that had a sex change to marry those of the opposite sex which validated the marriage. The trial court judge had rejected the marriage on the assumption that it was same sex marriage which were void in Texas at that time. Mrs. Araguz-Loyd stated that she was not after money, only seeking to have her marriage recognized as legal. No word yet if the ruling will appealed to the Texas Supreme Court.
See, Court sides with transgender widow in fight over firefighter’s estate, ABC 13, October 26, 2015.
Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.
