LEXIE CANNES STATE OF TRANS — UPDATED Feb. 24, 2014: A trans widow who was denied survivors benefits found the Social Security Administration reversing their stance. The money she was due was deposited into in her bank account earlier this month.
Original article: A 92-year old New York trans woman was denied Social Security survivors benefits following her husband’s passing in 2012.
Robina Asti found herself tripped up because the Social Security Administration says federal law considered her “legally male” at the time of her wedding in 2004, thus her marriage was not legally valid. Asti however, has government documents showing she has been a woman for 30 years. This includes a passport, drivers license and pilots license.
The benefit amount would be around $500 per month. She has appealed and has not heard back from the SS after 6 months.
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Lets do some math. She’s 92. $500 a month for a few more years adds up to what? Or were they just hoping she’d quietly die awaiting appeal?
More from Lambda legal (yes, closed captioned): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdiD78cZALY#t=1
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Watch Lexie Cannes in the transgender feature film “Lexie Cannes”. Get it here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0963781332
LEXIE CANNES STATE OF TRANS is associated with Wipe Out Transphobia: http://www.wipeouttransphobia.com/
Read Lexie Cannes in The Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/courtney-odonnell/
Categories: Policy, Administrative, Transgender, Transsexual, Trans
LEXIE CANNES STATE OF TRANS 
ME PARECE MUY INJUSTO, LO QUE HACEN CON NUESTRA COMPAÑERA, MUJER TRAS DE 92 AÑOS DE EDAD.
You know, I have a lot of dislike against the Social Security system. You can apply for disability, but you probably won’t get it by their doctors denial. So then you have to appeal the decision, but in order to do that, you have to get a lawyer, whose commission is 25% of your immediate back benefit award, to fill out all the gobbley-gook legal-speak verbiage required on the appeal forms. You shouldn’t have to go through that process. You should be able to submit your own doctors filled out Social Security Appeal form detailing your disability(s) for an appeals judge to rule on. Let the lawyers get involved with the third appeal if necessary.
As far as disallowing the widow her right to receive her husband’s Social Security benefit, that should be a no brainer considering that she got her legal sex change before she got married. That’s not fair at all.
Here, We Are, 2014, a new day,or is it? I want to believe it is, but then, We are talking about the goverment, I think We need Our own lobby
Horrible!! A perfect example of why Equal Rights is so much more than an Photo Op wedding on the Grammys.
I totally agree, Liz.