To: President Donald Trump, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate

Step-Parents' Inheritance Limitations to Protect Stepchildren's Inheritance Rights

Limit the inheritance rights of step-parents who marry a man or woman with children/family of their own. The step-parent, as a "spouse," must NO LONGER be able to inherit a deceased man or woman's entire estate to the exclusion of that man or woman's family. Instead, a step-parent's inheritance portion must be NO GREATER than that of the deceased's natural or adopted family members (particularly children and grandchildren, whether minors or adults).

Too many families are being financially ruined and even made homeless because a predatory step-parent married someone for his/her money and property. Children were a parent's family first. No step-parent should have the ability to rob them.

Likewise, a step-parent's own children and grandchildren are protected. Again, NO step-parent should be able to claim any greater portion of a deceased spouse's estate than can the deceased's children and grandchildren. In effect, this petition proposes legislation to reduce the legal status of step-parents from that of "spouse" to that of a child, grandchild, or other heir. No American should be made to suffer as did Cinderella!

Why is this important?

Countless American children & grandchildren--both minors and adults--are robbed of our inheritances because our mom or dad remarried a stepmom or stepdad, who, as a SPOUSE, has unlimited rights to inherit, even to the TOTAL EXCLUSION of us, our siblings, and our children.

Our family lost everything because our STEPMOM of 18 years, whom we loved and trusted, inherited all Dad's estate as his "spouse." We, Dad's kids and grandkids, got NOTHING. Then Stepmom evicted us from Dad's home and never saw us again. She had only married Dad for his money and property. This horror could not have happened if our rights had been protected by a law that limited Stepmom's inheritance rights. This petition calls for such limitation.

LIMIT the inheritance rights of ANY step-spouse who marries a man or woman with blood or adopted children, grandchildren, siblings, etc. Your step-parent's inheritance claim on your parent's estate must be NO GREATER than your own.

Such legislation will also put an end to questionable wills that unexpectedly disinherit us children or leave ALL to a step-parent (or to his/her children) while TOTALLY EXCLUDING your own blood or adopted family members.

In return, the step-parent's own children are equally protected, as NO step-parent can inherit more than a parent's natural or adopted children.

Predatory step-parents destroy families. The numbers are frightening. Don't be fooled by loving promises without laws to back them up: remember that WE were fooled for 18 years. There are far more Cinderellas in our country than there are Brady Bunches. The estate you save could be your own.