LGBTQ+ Legal Planning: Protecting Your Rights if Marriage Equality Is Overturned (Ep. 30)

In this episode, Michelle Gessner, CFP®, welcomes attorney Lorie Burch for an important conversation on estate planning for LGBTQ+ families, especially in Texas. Lorie shares her personal experience with reciprocal IVF and the surprising legal reality that birth certificates alone don’t guarantee parental rights. They explore why second-parent adoption is essential and how shifting laws—like a possible overturn of marriage equality—could impact families.

The discussion also highlights the risks of using online DIY estate planning tools or handwritten wills, which often fail due to improper execution. Lorie outlines what to look for in a qualified estate planning attorney and explains why revocable living trusts are becoming more popular for privacy and avoiding probate. Whether you’re part of the LGBTQ+ community or not, this episode offers practical advice to help protect your loved ones and avoid legal complications down the road.

What to expect from their conversation:

Parental rights for LGBTQ+ couples in Texas
The importance of estate plans that account for shifting legal landscapes
Holographic (handwritten) wills and how they often fail in court
Why same-sex couples might want to consider obtaining a marriage license from protective states for added security
Real examples of planning mistakes and how to avoid them
And more!

Resources:

Connect with Michelle CFP®: facebook linkedin

YouTube: Gessner Wealth Strategies

713-589-6448

Connect with Lorie Burch:

About Lorie Burch:

Lorie owns a Dallas law firm that primarily focuses on estate planning, including wills, trusts, powers of attorney, probate, and business law. Burch Law has been awarded 3 years in a row as one of the 500 fastest-growing small law firms in the country, which is a testament to our team and how we’ve been able to help more families and individuals with this vital planning.

Lorie has engaged in many civic and community organizations and advocacy. She currently serves on the Leadership Plano Board of Directors and is the Chair of the Diversity Advisory Committee for Leadership Plano. In 2018, she ran for United States Congress for the 3rd District of Texas. Lorie served as the 2013-2014 National President for the Board of Directors of the American Business Women’s Association. She is also the past Chairwoman of the Board for the North Texas LGBT Chamber and was formerly the Co-Chair of the DFW Human Rights Campaign Steering Committee.

This year, Lorie was voted as Dallas’ Best Civil/Family Law Attorney by readers of the Dallas Voice for the 6th time! In 2024, Burch Law was awarded “Best Marketing Ad Campaign” by Plano City Lifestyle Magazine. In 2022, Burch Law was honored as Business of the Year by the North Texas LGBT Chamber. Additionally, Lorie was honored by the Dallas Business Journal as a 2013 Women in Business. She was recognized as one of the 2010 Top Ten Business Women for the American Business Women’s Association. In 2007, Lorie was awarded the North Texas LGBT Chamber Business Person of the Year.

About Michelle Gessner:

As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, Michelle is passionate about building a life plan for her clients and helping them see that they have choices, which often comes to them as a pleasant surprise. She is an independent thinker and a huge advocate of her clients’ interests. Her greatest joy is working to do what is right for them and being their voice.

Michelle has a B.S. in Finance from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and an M.S. in Management from Boston University, Brussels. Growing up in Montana and moving to Colorado for college, she took out student loans and worked her way through all four years. After graduating in 1987 with honors, she accepted a job at Shell Oil in Houston and worked her way up the corporate ladder to a management position before leaving in 1992 for Brussels, Belgium, where she lived for 4 years. In Brussels, she learned about different cultures and basic conversational French, as well as pursuing and earning a graduate degree in management.

As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, she is held to the highest standards set forth in the industry. She surrounds herself with a back office of experts in tax and investment research so that her clients have the best of both worlds – the resources of a large firm with the caring, dedication, and personal service of a small firm.

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