{"id":12392,"date":"2022-04-17T08:00:29","date_gmt":"2022-04-17T13:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/legaltalktexas.hammerle.com\/?p=12392"},"modified":"2025-06-18T16:46:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T21:46:00","slug":"half-a-century-later-patterns-emerge-in-predatory-marriages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/half-a-century-later-patterns-emerge-in-predatory-marriages\/","title":{"rendered":"Half a Century Later: Patterns Emerge in Predatory Marriages"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When 58-year-old Pearl Choate interviewed with elderly millionaires Otis and Estelle Birch at their 32-room California mansion for a private nursing job in the mid 1960\u2019s, she carried with her a history that included 6 marriages and a 12-year stint in a Texas prison for murder.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Two weeks later she was the Birchs\u2019 only caregiver.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Changes quickly happened. News reports show that, somehow, Pearl\u2019s name ended up on the title to the Birchs\u2019 oil wells, Utah mill and mansion. After firing the Birchs\u2019 only other employee and hiring her brother as their watchman, Pearl kept the Birchs isolated from their friends and family. Within a year Pearl had all the contents of the mansion hauled off and had moved senile Estelle and deaf, near-blind Otis into her small home in Compton so she could better attend to them. Then all 3 disappeared.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Estelle\u2019s distant relatives became alarmed and petitioned to have a guardian appointed in California. The couple was not discovered until Estelle died in Breckenridge, Texas. Two weeks after Estelle\u2019s death, Pearl married Otis. He was 95 years old.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Five months later Otis, too, was dead.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After Otis\u2019 death, it was discovered that he had changed his will to leave his entire estate, at one time valued at $200 million, to Pearl. In 1970, after a 3-year court fight, a Dallas court admitted Otis\u2019 will to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning-and-probate\/probate-and-its-process-explained\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">probate<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Pearl had won.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Predatory Marriages<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There were a lot of people who were convinced that Pearl Choate was a predator, although that was a label that Pearl vigorously disputed. Predatory behavior in a caregiver is, unfortunately, common. A bit less common, but even more ominous, is predatory marriage. By marrying the victim, the predator, as a surviving spouse, can be entitled to several protections under Texas law, including the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning-and-probate\/probate-homestead-the-right-of-occupancy\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">right to stay in the homestead<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and receive a widow\u2019s allowance. Historically there has been little that family or friends could do to challenge a suspected predatory marriage after the victim died.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2007 Texas changed that by adopting a law that allows some marriages to be voided after death. The application must be filed by someone who is interested (that\u2019s a statutory definition) in the decedent\u2019s estate.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Voiding a Marriage<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Only marriages that are less than 3 years old can be voided. However, there is a loophole. If at the time the decedent died there was already a lawsuit seeking to void the marriage, then that lawsuit can continue. Thus, some marriages that are older than 3 years could be voided.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Assuming there is not already a pending lawsuit, then the window to file an application is extremely narrow: 1 year after the decedent\u2019s death.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The grounds to void a marriage after death are equally narrow; it is limited to lack of mental capacity. The applicant must prove that, on the date of marriage, the decedent did not have the mental capacity to consent to the marriage and that the decedent did not understand the nature of the marriage ceremony. Mistake, fraud, duress, or predatory behavior are not sufficient statutory grounds to void a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/legal-talk\/time-marches-on-probate-starts-immediately-after-death\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">marriage after death<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After Otis\u2019 death, Pearl served another 20 months in prison for firing a .22 caliber rifle during a dispute with a tenant. She died in 1983.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By all accounts, Otis and Estelle Birch \u2013 wealthy, elderly and childless &#8211; were already isolated when Pearl came into their lives. This story might have ended differently had they kept active with a close circle of friends and advisors, who would have served as a safety net, as they aged.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hammerle Morris Can Help With Your Estate Planning Needs<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re looking for estate planning assistance, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/lewisville-attorney\/#form\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">schedule a consultation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/lawyers\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">attorney<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at Hammerle Morris to discuss what is right for you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/lawyers\/virginia-hammerle\/\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Virginia Hammerle<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is an attorney with Hammerle Morris Law Firm. She is entering her 40th year in the practice of law. She is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal specialization. Contact legaltalktexas@hammerle.com to receive her firm\u2019s newsletter.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When 58-year-old Pearl Choate interviewed with elderly millionaires Otis and Estelle Birch at their 32-room California mansion for a private nursing job in the mid 1960\u2019s, she carried with her a history that included 6 marriages and a 12-year stint in a Texas prison for murder.\u00a0\u00a0 Two weeks later she was the Birchs\u2019 only caregiver.\u00a0\u00a0 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":12393,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1224],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-12392","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-estate-planning"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Patterns Emerge in Predatory Marriages | Hammerle Morris Law Firm<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By marrying the victim, the predator, as a surviving spouse, can be entitled to several protections under Texas law, including the right to stay in the homestead and receive a widow\u2019s allowance.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/half-a-century-later-patterns-emerge-in-predatory-marriages\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Patterns Emerge in Predatory Marriages | Hammerle Morris Law Firm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By marrying the victim, the predator, as a surviving spouse, can be entitled to several protections under Texas law, including the right to stay in the homestead and receive a widow\u2019s allowance.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/half-a-century-later-patterns-emerge-in-predatory-marriages\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hammerle Morris Law Firm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-04-17T13:00:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-18T21:46:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/4.17-blog.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Virginia Hammerle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Virginia Hammerle\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/estate-planning\\\/half-a-century-later-patterns-emerge-in-predatory-marriages\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/estate-planning\\\/half-a-century-later-patterns-emerge-in-predatory-marriages\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Virginia Hammerle\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3a35dce360aad1cd9da53574c3c1a6bd\"},\"headline\":\"Half a Century Later: Patterns Emerge in Predatory Marriages\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-04-17T13:00:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-18T21:46:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/estate-planning\\\/half-a-century-later-patterns-emerge-in-predatory-marriages\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":674,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/estate-planning\\\/half-a-century-later-patterns-emerge-in-predatory-marriages\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/4.17-blog.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Estate Planning\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/estate-planning\\\/half-a-century-later-patterns-emerge-in-predatory-marriages\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/estate-planning\\\/half-a-century-later-patterns-emerge-in-predatory-marriages\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/estate-planning\\\/half-a-century-later-patterns-emerge-in-predatory-marriages\\\/\",\"name\":\"Patterns Emerge in Predatory Marriages | Hammerle Morris Law Firm\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/estate-planning\\\/half-a-century-later-patterns-emerge-in-predatory-marriages\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/estate-planning\\\/half-a-century-later-patterns-emerge-in-predatory-marriages\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/4.17-blog.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-04-17T13:00:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-18T21:46:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3a35dce360aad1cd9da53574c3c1a6bd\"},\"description\":\"By marrying the victim, the predator, as a surviving spouse, can be entitled to several protections under Texas law, including the right to stay in the homestead and receive a widow\u2019s allowance.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/estate-planning\\\/half-a-century-later-patterns-emerge-in-predatory-marriages\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/estate-planning\\\/half-a-century-later-patterns-emerge-in-predatory-marriages\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/estate-planning\\\/half-a-century-later-patterns-emerge-in-predatory-marriages\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/4.17-blog.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/4.17-blog.png\",\"width\":800,\"height\":500,\"caption\":\"predatory marriage\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/estate-planning\\\/half-a-century-later-patterns-emerge-in-predatory-marriages\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Half a Century Later: Patterns Emerge in Predatory Marriages\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/\",\"name\":\"Hammerle Morris Law Firm\",\"description\":\"Legal Talk Texas\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3a35dce360aad1cd9da53574c3c1a6bd\",\"name\":\"Virginia Hammerle\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/virginia-150x150.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/virginia-150x150.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/virginia-150x150.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Virginia Hammerle\"},\"description\":\"Virginia Hammerle is a contributing columnist to The Dallas Morning News and writes weekly articles and blogs on legal issues confronting seniors and their families.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/virginiahammerle\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/author\\\/virginia-hammerle\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Patterns Emerge in Predatory Marriages | Hammerle Morris Law Firm","description":"By marrying the victim, the predator, as a surviving spouse, can be entitled to several protections under Texas law, including the right to stay in the homestead and receive a widow\u2019s allowance.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/half-a-century-later-patterns-emerge-in-predatory-marriages\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Patterns Emerge in Predatory Marriages | Hammerle Morris Law Firm","og_description":"By marrying the victim, the predator, as a surviving spouse, can be entitled to several protections under Texas law, including the right to stay in the homestead and receive a widow\u2019s allowance.","og_url":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/half-a-century-later-patterns-emerge-in-predatory-marriages\/","og_site_name":"Hammerle Morris Law Firm","article_published_time":"2022-04-17T13:00:29+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-06-18T21:46:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":500,"url":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/4.17-blog.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Virginia Hammerle","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Virginia Hammerle","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/half-a-century-later-patterns-emerge-in-predatory-marriages\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/half-a-century-later-patterns-emerge-in-predatory-marriages\/"},"author":{"name":"Virginia Hammerle","@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/#\/schema\/person\/3a35dce360aad1cd9da53574c3c1a6bd"},"headline":"Half a Century Later: Patterns Emerge in Predatory Marriages","datePublished":"2022-04-17T13:00:29+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-18T21:46:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/half-a-century-later-patterns-emerge-in-predatory-marriages\/"},"wordCount":674,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/half-a-century-later-patterns-emerge-in-predatory-marriages\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/4.17-blog.png","articleSection":["Estate Planning"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/half-a-century-later-patterns-emerge-in-predatory-marriages\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/half-a-century-later-patterns-emerge-in-predatory-marriages\/","url":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/half-a-century-later-patterns-emerge-in-predatory-marriages\/","name":"Patterns Emerge in Predatory Marriages | Hammerle Morris Law Firm","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/half-a-century-later-patterns-emerge-in-predatory-marriages\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/half-a-century-later-patterns-emerge-in-predatory-marriages\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/4.17-blog.png","datePublished":"2022-04-17T13:00:29+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-18T21:46:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/#\/schema\/person\/3a35dce360aad1cd9da53574c3c1a6bd"},"description":"By marrying the victim, the predator, as a surviving spouse, can be entitled to several protections under Texas law, including the right to stay in the homestead and receive a widow\u2019s allowance.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/half-a-century-later-patterns-emerge-in-predatory-marriages\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/half-a-century-later-patterns-emerge-in-predatory-marriages\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/half-a-century-later-patterns-emerge-in-predatory-marriages\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/4.17-blog.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/4.17-blog.png","width":800,"height":500,"caption":"predatory marriage"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/half-a-century-later-patterns-emerge-in-predatory-marriages\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Half a Century Later: Patterns Emerge in Predatory Marriages"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/","name":"Hammerle Morris Law Firm","description":"Legal Talk Texas","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/#\/schema\/person\/3a35dce360aad1cd9da53574c3c1a6bd","name":"Virginia Hammerle","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/01\/virginia-150x150.jpg","url":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/01\/virginia-150x150.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/01\/virginia-150x150.jpg","caption":"Virginia Hammerle"},"description":"Virginia Hammerle is a contributing columnist to The Dallas Morning News and writes weekly articles and blogs on legal issues confronting seniors and their families.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/virginiahammerle\/"],"url":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/author\/virginia-hammerle\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12392"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12392\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}