National
Most LGBT adults don’t have a will: survey
Surviving spouse may not receive full inheritance by marriage
‘Leaving a positive, meaningful legacy is important for LGBT adults,’ said Wonhong Lee of Mass Mutual.
Sixty-two percent of LGBT adults aged 45 to 60 do not have a will, according to a newly released survey conducted by the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance company.
The survey, which was conducted online, found that a similar number (60 percent) of adults in the general population in that same age range did not have a will.
By comparison, 69 percent of Hispanic respondents and 71 percent of African-American respondents reported not having a will, according to the survey, which consisted of a total sample of 2,500 Americans between the ages of 45 and 60. Out of that total, 500 identified as members of the LGBT community.
The survey was conducted Aug. 8-14, 2016.
“Leaving a positive, meaningful legacy is important for LGBT adults,” said Wonhong Lee, assistant vice president for Mass Mutual’s consumer and diversity group, which provides services for LGBT consumers. “That’s why we want to help them align their legacy, values and aspirations when planning for their loved ones’ financial future,” he said.
Lee said that although Mass Mutual’s main product is life insurance policies the company also provides financial planning services to its clients.
Michele Zavos, a Silver Spring, Md., attorney specializing in LGBT family law, said she and other members of her firm, Zavos-Juncker, have observed anecdotally a similarly high number of LGBT people who don’t have a will.
“I think that one misimpression that should be corrected when we say people don’t have wills is that they don’t have a will that they proactively prepared themselves,” she said. “But they do have a will. Their jurisdiction of residence writes it for them.”
Added Zavos: “So everybody has a will. It’s just a matter of whether you know what it says or not” and whether it’s in your best interest or not.
According to Zavos, people who are married – whether gay or straight – often don’t realize that state laws that determine who inherits the assets of someone who doesn’t have a will often do not award the entire estate to the surviving spouse. In many states, Zavos said, the deceased person’s children and parents are awarded a sizable part of the estate, with the spouse getting a smaller part.
It all depends on the laws of your jurisdiction of residence, which are known as intestate succession laws, she said. “It’s the equivalent of a will. It just says what the state wants to say, not what you want to say.”
For that and other reasons, Zavos said, it is important that all adults, especially LGBT people who may be estranged from blood relatives who aren’t accepting of their sexual orientation or gender identity, take immediate steps to obtain a legally prepared will.
The survey found that LGBT adults along with adults in the general population have a better record of documenting personal financial information such as financial accounts and insurance information. Sixty-one percent of LGBT adults aged 45 to 60 reported having done this, the survey found, compared to 60 percent of adults in that same age range in the general population.
But the survey also found that LGBT respondents in the survey were among the least likely to say they have a child who has access to their important financial information (10 percent). By comparison, 33 percent of African-American respondents and 25 percent of Hispanic respondents reported having a child with access to their financial information.
LGBT respondents, however, were significantly more likely to report having shared their financial information with a “special friend” (10 percent) versus 3 percent with Hispanic and 3 percent African-American respondents.
More information about the survey can be obtained at massmutual.com/lgbt.
National
Queen Jean is Tony’s first transgender winner
Designer/activist wins for work on ‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball’
It was a historic night at the 79th annual Tony Awards on Sunday as Queen Jean won the award for Best Costume Design of a Musical, making her the first out transgender person to win a Tony.
“This experience has been monumental. We are here for the legacy of queer people, trans people,” she said. “We are taking up space in ways we have to take up space. We have to shift the paradigm. So I just want to say, thank you all so much for this incredible honor. The world right now is deeply, deeply combating so many ailments, and we know as a society that when we come together, we can make real, permanent change.”
She won the award for her work on “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” and was also nominated for best costume design of a play for “Liberation.”
In addition to her stage work, Queen Jean is the founder of Black Trans Liberation, an organization that supports trans and gender-nonconforming people in New York City.
National
Madonna turns Times Square into massive dance floor
Pop icon celebrates Pride month with surprise performance
Pop icon Madonna celebrated Pride month with a pop-up performance in New York City’s Times Square on Thursday to the delight of 50,000 fans.
She performed for about 15 minutes high above street level, including several songs from her new album “Confessions II” due on July 3, along with a trio of songs from the first “Confessions on a Dance Floor.”
In addition to the brand new “Love Sensation,” she performed “I Feel So Free” and “Bring Your Love,” plus “Hung Up,” “Get Together” and “I Love New York.” She wished the crowd a happy Pride season; the event was shared with audiences through Grindr’s first-ever livestream.
National
Gallup finds LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping
Marriage equality support lowest since 2016
Gallup, one of the leading organizations in public opinion polling, has found that LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping.
The poll, whose data was collected using Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs survey, was conducted in May and was published on Wednesday. The data was collected through telephone interviews from a sample of more than 1,000 adults living in all 50 states and D.C. using random digit dialing.
It highlights declining attitudes surrounding LGBTQ issues in multiple areas — from support for same-sex marriage to views on gender identity and the morality of one’s sexuality.
One of the most striking findings was that support for marriage equality fell six points from its 2022-2023 high.
The survey also found that 62 percent of Americans view gay and lesbian relations as morally acceptable, the lowest level since 2016 just after same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide by the U.S. Supreme Court.
One newer question on the poll found that the perceived morality of changing one’s gender has dropped eight points since 2021, indicating the American public is less supportive of transgender people.
The data attributes much of the decline to shifting Republican views alongside the party itself. Conservative leaders have pushed back against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that were intended to foster greater acceptance of LGBTQ people and other historically disadvantaged groups.
President Donald Trump has been a guiding force behind waves of anti-LGBTQ sentiment, particularly when it comes to trans rights. The president has enacted multiple executive orders, including Executive Order 14168, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” which mandates that gender be defined by one’s sex assigned at birth. He also signed Executive Order 14183, “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,” which barred qualified trans applicants from joining the military and led to the removal of trans service members already serving in the armed forces.
Additionally, he signed Executive Order 14201, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which prohibits trans female athletes from participating on women’s and girls’ sports teams.
In February, Gallup found that an estimated 9 percent of Americans identified as part of the LGBTQ community in some form.
The organization also found that 23 percent of adults under age 30 identify as LGBTQ, compared with 10 percent of those ages 30 to 49 and 3 percent or less among those ages 50 and older.
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