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A BC Dad Left His Lesbian Daughter Zero Inheritance and Now She’s Suing

Sure, you can be a dick to your kids when you die, but past court decisions have ruled against homophobic wills.

You can't choose your family, but you can choose how much of your money they get after you die. In an ultimate dick move, one BC dad split his entire estate between two kids, and left his lesbian daughter with nothing.

Now Donna White is suing for inheritance, claiming she was left out because of her sexual orientation. According to court documents, White says her whole family didn't come to her wedding, and refused to acknowledge her relationship.

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"As a result of Donna telling her parents that she was a homosexual, they treated her differently and unfairly from her siblings," reads part of the suit. "Further, they isolated themselves from her and at various time told her that they did not want to see her and they would not accept her long-time partner, Ann Irwin, into their home."

William Sydney Porteous, who died last month at the age of 100, leaves behind an apartment in Richmond and investments worth about $300,000.

BC's Supreme Court has struck down homophobic wills in the past. In 2006, a gay man in Victoria sued his dad for leaving more money to his two other sons. The judge in the case wrote "homosexuality is not a factor in today's society justifying a judicious parent disinheriting or limiting benefits to his child."

Last year, an Ontario court ruled you can't cut off your kids for having interracial relationships, either. The judge on the case said a Jamaican man who left his daughter nothing because she had a "bastard white son" made his decision "based on a clearly racist principle." However, the man's estate appealed and won earlier this year.

So, depending what province you decide to die in, you can leave less money to your least favourite kids, but you have to have a good reason. And being a bigot probably isn't one of them.

Photo via Flickr user Ken Mayer

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