Domestic Disputes

Nearly every state prohibits same-sex marriage. But what are the rights of transsexuals who wed?

As love affairs go, the union of Marshall Gardiner and J'Noel Ball seemed familiar in its contours. He was a lively 85-year-old widower and former Kansas state legislator who made a pile in the stock market. She was half his age, an assistant professor of finance at his alma mater, Park College. Four months after they met they wed.

Just 11 months later Marshall succumbed to a heart attack, leaving behind no will and an estate worth nearly $3 million. Under Kansas law it should simply be split evenly among his spouse and heirs. But a private eye hired by Marshall's...

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