WHARTON, Texas, July 27 (UPI) -- The transgendered widow of a firefighter could be barred from any benefits by a Texas court.
If the court rules against Nikki Araguz, 35, her husband's entire estate would go to his two young sons, The Houston Chronicle reported. At the moment, the court has temporarily blocked her from benefits.
Thomas Araguz III was killed July 4 at a fire at an egg farm in Boling. He was a captain in the Wharton Fire Department.
The Chronicle said that Araguz said in an April deposition he did not know when they were married 20 months earlier that his wife had been born male. Nikki Araguz said she did not tell him.
Araguz told the Chronicle in an interview Monday she and her husband deliberately lied because they believed it would give them a better chance of remaining in touch with his children. His ex-wife was trying to block them from seeing the children, saying contact with Araguz would be bad for them.
"That deposition is a lie," she said. "At the time, Thomas and I thought it was in the best interest of our children to lie."
