Watson case update

Last month I wrote about the strange case of a woman claiming to be IBM founder Thomas Watson's granddaughter by reason of adoption. In that status she would be entitled to a share of a substantial trust created for his grandchildren. The unusual element in the story is that the woman, Patricia Spado, was the lesbian lover of Watson's daughter, adopted by the daughter even though Spado was the older partner. They broke up a year later.

Spado is pressing her claim, reports the New York Times today. The article provides a bit more background on the legal arguments, but not much in the way of new facts. Except, perhaps, for this ironic twist. Spado claims to need to money to care for her biological mother. Evidently the adoption didn't really severe the original mother-daughter relationship after all.